On June 6th, there was fresh snow on Mt. Lamborn. I even got a picture this time. Over the last day or so, we’ve gotten almost half an inch of rain, and the Grand Mesa got four inches of fresh snow. The rains will be really good for establishing our pastures.

Today was also chicken arrival day. We raise some chicks each year. Usually, we get both meat broilers and some laying hens, but this year we decided on just one batch of meat birds. Our hens from last year’s chicks are doing well, and they should last through another winter. We buy our chicks from Ideal Hatchery in Texas. The baby chicks are packaged and sent via the Postal Service. We get a call early in the morning to pick them up as soon as the truck they’re on arrives.
We went to town, knocked on the back door, and received our box of chicks. Then, they went home to the already-prepared brooder. I now dip each chick’s beak in water as I take them out and count them. We ordered 100, and Ideal shipped 104. That’s to help cover any early losses. The chicks are looking bright and alert, and they’ve been doing well. I think waiting until later in the year was a good idea.

I know that hatcheries say not to use newspaper for baby chicks, as it can cause problems with their legs. Hoever, their suggestion of burlap is not available locally. We used to be able to get some feed in burlap sacks, but now it’s all in paper bags. We use newspaper, but we try to get them on shavings as soon as they live through their first few days.
The red broilers we get grow a bit more slowly than commercial white broilers, but they are much more active foragers. Their color also makes them less of a target for aerial predators. We expect these birds to reach slaughter size by the end of August.