- The day is finally here guys.
These girls are going to have some new sisters.
(light music)
We have the new Epic hens.
Four more, I wanna show you them in just a second,
but before I do,
yesterday, I spent a little time setting up
the brooder yet again.
And I made a couple of changes from the very first time
that I raised chicks.
Nothing too crazy.
So, I used some shredded straw, fine shredded straw,
not a lot of dust particulates in it
as our base for the bedding.
And then I pretty much have the same setup
that I had for water.
So, I have this little waterer right here,
which I've put up on a block.
In day one, I'll show you what I do to make sure
that they know that that's where the water is.
And then I upgraded my feeder here to this bigger guy just
because I want to make sure that they know
that that's where the water is.
And then I upgraded my feeder here to this bigger guy,
just because I want to make sure
that I don't run out of food.
They actually eat quite a bit.
In fact, when Renee of Backyard Chickies came,
the very first thing they did was start eating the food.
So, they're going to start eating and pooping like crazy.
The only other change I made, oh, look at that.
They actually figured it out.
So, the only problem is this,
oh no, the shorter one can't actually get in.
Okay, great.
So, two of them are a week older than the other two,
just so I could have the delivery at the exact same time.
But besides that,
the only change I made is the brooder comes over
to this side,
the heating element, and it angles forward and outward.
So, the reason I have it set up like this,
where basically the back of it is lower to the ground
than the front of it,
is so that they can adjust and modulate
how hot they want to be.
Obviously, the further back they are,
the closer they are to the element,
so the more hot they'll be.
And if they go further up, they will be less hot.
And I've even noticed some of the smaller ones lying
on the bedding, not pressing their bodies up
against the brooder just to probably
get a little bit of warmth,
but not overheat themselves.
So, they're eating.
I think it's probably time to introduce you at least
to the breeds because you guys are the ones that are going
to name these Epic Hens.
Before I introduce you to our new Epic Hens,
which you are going to name,
I need to lay down some ground rules
because I will abide by the results no matter what,
so long as these rules are followed.
Rule number one, they have to be one word.
No like long names.
Number two, no puns.
No like chicken puns like extra or something like that.
I don't like those.
Number three, no proper names like Chad or Sally.
That's pretty much it.
Now remember, they should fit in to the overall flock.
We have Gucci, rest in peace, Chetty, Lav, Butter,
Lobster and Rufio.
See how those names all play together?
That's what these ones are going to be named.
And without further ado,
let me introduce you to the very first new Epic Chickie.
First, we have this Jubilee Orpington,
which is a very, very beautiful hen.
You can see it kind of looks like Budda looked
when I first had her, but she wants to fly away.
The only little distinction are these little wings.
Oh, that was a big jump.
This girl has little wings that will show you
what she will eventually look like,
but this is just an Orpington,
so it's going to be very fluffy and very, very colorful.
Next, we have one of the most done up little hens
I've ever seen.
This is a Black Australorp,
which will become basically an iridescent type of black
as she matures.
But take a look at the patterning around her eyes.
Very beautiful.
Almost looks like she's done a little mascara,
a little eyeliner,
a little makeup.
(chick sqwarking)
So maybe she felt, oh, she just, she just pooped on me.
I don't know why that freaked me out so much.
It's not a big deal at all,
but she did just lay a little dookie down on me.
But look at this little girl.
So, think of a name.
Black Australorp is our next breed.
This girl here is another day-old chick.
So, two of them are a week old.
Two of them are a day old.
two of them are a day old.
This is one of the day olds.
She's trying to nap right now.
She's cheaping like crazy.
This is our splash laced Wyandotte.
So, we have a gold or had a gold and Gucci,
a silver laced Wyandotte.
This is the splash laced Wyandotte.
A little bit more colorful,
a little bit more variance in color.
She is a loud girl, and she is very, very young,
but has already figured out how to eat,
and also use the water,
even though it's raised up.
So, this girl is a loud girl, aren't you?
You're very loud.
Last but certainly not least,
the biggest hen I will probably ever have.
This is a Buff Brahma.
She's a week old.
She's definitely more agile, a little bit more energetic,
but the Buff Brahma is a very large hen
and they do not lay a lot of eggs.
So, let's just say she's going
to be freeloading a little bit,
maybe a hundred, 150 eggs a year.
But the most notable part you can see is you can already
see some feathers starting to develop on her actual feet.
So, this is one of those hens that will produce feathers
on the feet.
They almost look like legs at that point.
She wants to fly here.
But remember this is going to be a big girl buff Brahma.
So, she's going to be a little
bit more like the color of Budda
in our flock.
And let's figure out a name.
The chickies are going to stay in the brooding setup
for a minimum of eight weeks.
Now, I introduced the original flock out
into the coop a little bit earlier than that,
maybe six or seven weeks,
but they didn't have a flock they were joining.
And I've been told by Renee of Backyard Chickies,
who I got these beautiful chickies from,
and also a lot of you watching that introducing a flock
to new hens is a little bit more treacherous.
So, if I was to have introduced these,
let's say six weeks from now,
there's a really good chance they would be pecked to death,
even though my hens are pretty nice hens.
That's what I've been told.
So, I'm gonna mature them in this brooding setup
for probably eight weeks, maybe up to 10.
And then what I will do is build
what's called a coop-in-coop.
Jacques actually did this over on his channel.
You can check it out.
I don't know if he showed it,
but basically in his outdoor run, he put another coop.
And it was a way for the pullets, as they'll be,
when they mature to about eight weeks or so,
they become pullets or sort of like teenage hens.
It's a way for those pullets to get some exposure
to the existing flock before they actually fully integrate.
So, it lets some familiarity build,
gets them to a size where they can't really be picked on.
And then eventually you start opening that coop in coop
and letting them come in and out and interact.
And that tends to really work well for the integration.
This happens a lot actually.
This one does not know how to get back under.
So, I'm just going to put her on this side,
and she'll come under the brooder.
But eventually, they figure that stuff out.
You'll know because they'll start screaming basically.
They'll start chirping really, really loud.
And you come out and it means
they're either hungry, thirsty,
or they're alone.
They're sort of away from their flock.
They can't figure out how to get back.
So, if you hear that, you just come and save them.
But for now, I'll show you the final little step here
is just some kind of protection.
Now they're not old enough right now to jump out,
but they will become old enough very soon.
And they are very agile.
So, I just have a little chicken wire that I've put here
and that should protect them.
But stay tuned my friends and please name the hens.
There'll be a link down below where you can do it.
Good luck in the garden and keep on growing.
(chick sqwarking)