Chick this out

Lots of excitement around the arrival of the little chicks on Friday... and after the weekend I'm happy to report that all 30 of the little guys are doing fine. We did have one super small one that seemed to have issue walking - so after a healthy dose of some fresh calf liver - (he) she's doing much better and running around with the rest of them.
I'll try and keep pictures updated - since many people don't grasp how fast these little guys grow - from inside egg to chicken inside the freezer, all in about 8 weeks... Meaning - they already look different than when they showed up - sure they are still fuzzy and yellow - but they all have noticeable big white feathers on their wings now and they are eating a lot more than on day 1.

Tonight is also a milestone for them - at 7pm the food leaves the brooder... and comes back in the morning. And that's how the remainder of their life will be lived - roughly 12 hours with food and 12 hours without... failure to do this results in early chicken death - really!

Why chickens? Fun facts... (source Weiss Research, Inc.)

• It takes two pounds of feed (grain) to produce a pound of chicken ... four pounds of grain for a pound of pork ... eight pounds of feed for a pound of beef.

• The amount of corn required to produce a tankful of ethanol for an SUV can feed one person for a full year.

• Corn hit an all-time high at the beginning of May - the result - Chicken and poultry jumped 7% compared to year-ago prices, while eggs zoomed 25% higher.