From Brooder to Garden: Moving the Chicks to Their New Run at Rock Bottom Ranch

At Rock Bottom Ranch, everything—and everyone—has a job to do, including our youngest crew members.

This week, we officially moved our spring-hatched chicks into their middle stage run, and let’s just say... they’re loving the upgrade.

These little Icelandic dynamos have gone through a few phases of chick life already. We wanted to share a behind-the-scenes look at our process for gradually integrating them into life on the ranch, while also building soil health and prepping garden beds with their help. It’s all part of the rhythm of homesteading—and rebuilding our flock from the ground up, one hatch at a time.

🐣 The Chick Journey: Our Step-by-Step Staging Process

We don’t rush things here. Here’s how we’ve raised this batch from egg to future foragers:

1. Incubation: We incubate our eggs on-site, sourced from a trusted local farm that raises heritage Icelandics. The process takes 21 days, and we monitor temperature and humidity daily for strong, healthy chicks.

2. The First Brooder (0–2 weeks): After hatching, chicks spend their first couple of weeks in a warm, secure brooder outfitted with a heat lamp, cedar shavings, and constant care. This is where they grow strong, stay cozy, and learn to eat, drink, and build their confidence.

3. The Daytime Crate (2–4 weeks): Once they’re a little bigger, we graduate them into a transitional phase: a large dog crate wrapped in hardware cloth for safety. They go outside during the day to scratch, sunbathe, and explore new textures, and then return to the brooder at night.

4. The Middle Run (now!): Now that they’re more feathered and sturdy, they’ve moved to a larger outdoor pen next to the garden. This is where they really shine—working the soil, scratching through compost, and prepping garden beds. They’re safe, stimulated, and so happy to be living like chickens.

5. Coop Coming Soon (Starting from Scratch—Pun Fully Intended!): Since we’re rebuilding our flock from scratch, these chicks are the future of Rock Bottom Ranch. Once they’re fully feathered and ready, they’ll graduate to our main coop-in-progress and begin their new lives as the founding hens (and roos!) of a resilient, regenerative flock.

🌱 Chickens + Garden = The Ultimate Homestead Partnership

Right now, their new run is nestled beside one of our active garden beds. Why? Because chickens make incredible garden prep partners.

• They cultivate the soil with their constant scratching and dust bathing.

• They eat pests and weed seedlings.

• They fertilize—and we mean really fertilize.

🪱 Let’s Talk Worm Compost

As part of this garden build, we’re also incorporating worm compost into the soil. If you’re new to the wide world of vermiculture (raising worms!), here’s why we’re obsessed. First, there is a difference between worm compost (or vermicompost) and worm castings. You may have seen worm castings at the store.

Castings are the almost pure manure of the worms obtained by finely sifting worm compost. We just use the worm compost straight. It is a more coarse product that contains all the goodness of the worm castings, as well as a more biologically diverse community because of the bits of wood and other organic matter that remains in the mix. b Just like castings, worm compost is:

• Nutrient-Rich: Worm compost is loaded with bioavailable nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace minerals that plants love.

• Soil Structure: Worm compost improves aeration, drainage, and moisture retention.

• Microbial Life: Worm compost introduces beneficial microbes to your garden, helping plants absorb nutrients and fight disease.

  
  

Together with our chicks, the worm compost  is creating the perfect foundation for our next big planting. (And yes—we’re prepping to expand the garden even more.)

🐣 Next Batch: 15 Days to Go

We’re also counting down to the next hatch—15 days and we’ll be welcoming another round of fluffballs into the brooder. Slowly but surely, we’re rebuilding the flock with purpose and care, using each stage to give back to the land.

Whether you’re raising your first backyard flock or planting your first bed, we hope our process inspires you to take it slow, work with the land, and make your animals part of the system—not just bystanders.

🌻 Final Thoughts from the Ranch

Our chicks love their new run, and we love watching them grow into their roles on the farm. Every peck, scratch, and chirp is a reminder that this life—rooted in rhythm and responsibility—is worth it.

We’ll keep you posted when the next hatch arrives. Until then, come by the ranch or follow along online—we’ve always got something growing (or peeping).