Good luck with placement.
Bruce's Journal
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- #1,172
Bruce
Herd Master
Happy girls this morning
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Bruce
Herd Master
Stuffing chicks under Anais was a total fail. Brought them back in the house. Put them outside on Tuesday when it warmed up
That night instead of going into their MHP cave they were all piled in the corner of the brooder area behind the feeder. That would be to the right in this picture. I shoved them in their cave and checked an hour later, they were still there.
Yesterday the little daredevil Barred Rock flew up on top of the feeder then shot straight up out the 2x4 welded wire top. At least 8"
. I put a heavy cloth over the brooder in that area so she couldn't do it again. If she decided to drop down into the coop there is no way she could get back in the brooder.
Last night they weren't in the corner. GREAT they must be in the cave. Nope, I heard a bit of noise and found them all in the "well" between their glass door to the run and the board that keeps the shavings in the coop. Here are 2 of them sitting on that board watching the "outside" world. You can see the "well" in this picture.
That night instead of going into their MHP cave they were all piled in the corner of the brooder area behind the feeder. That would be to the right in this picture. I shoved them in their cave and checked an hour later, they were still there.
Yesterday the little daredevil Barred Rock flew up on top of the feeder then shot straight up out the 2x4 welded wire top. At least 8"
. I put a heavy cloth over the brooder in that area so she couldn't do it again. If she decided to drop down into the coop there is no way she could get back in the brooder.Last night they weren't in the corner. GREAT they must be in the cave. Nope, I heard a bit of noise and found them all in the "well" between their glass door to the run and the board that keeps the shavings in the coop. Here are 2 of them sitting on that board watching the "outside" world. You can see the "well" in this picture.
CntryBoy777
Herd Master
Sounds like they are having a Blast checking out the area....also, much better lively...well, than the alternative...
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- #1,175
Bruce
Herd Master
That is very true. Tomorrow I'm going to enclose a small part of the barn alley outside their door so they can explore beyond their brooder. The brooder area is against the west wall inside the coop. Other than light coming through their door and some from that end of the brooder, it is pretty dark in there.
BTW, had to move them out of that "well" again tonight. 90°F required 24x7 my ass.
BTW, had to move them out of that "well" again tonight. 90°F required 24x7 my ass.
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
I completely agree on the temp. We leave our brooder in the garage that stays about 45 in winter and 75 in summer. Heat lamp is at a set level. They have mesh over so that air movement is good. Ours never stay right under the light, only on the edges. It works for them. Of course, our smallest group was 10 so they have plenty of body heat too.
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- #1,177
Bruce
Herd Master
Accidentally solved the problem of the kids piling into the window well at night. They have their little run area (though a few have somehow managed to escape it) accessed by their open door. When the door is open, there is no well so they can't pig pile in there. They were all in their MHP cave last evening since it was fairly cool and their door was left open until about 7 PM.
Mike CHS
Herd Master
Accidentally or otherwise it's always nice to have a problem go away.
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- #1,179
Bruce
Herd Master
Yep.
I massively increased their run space today. They had a circle (ish) about 3' in diameter, now they have everything north of their door which includes the alley in front of the next stall, the alpacas' area and their 'alley' to their door. I don't expect the littles to go that far for awhile though they are 2 weeks old today and I think the batch last year started to get pretty brave and exploring further afield by 3 weeks. They spent most of their time in their MHP cave today as far as I could tell since it was only 50°F and the sun doesn't hit the alley until about 5 PM. DW went out when she came home from work and said they were out in a sun spot.
I massively increased their run space today. They had a circle (ish) about 3' in diameter, now they have everything north of their door which includes the alley in front of the next stall, the alpacas' area and their 'alley' to their door. I don't expect the littles to go that far for awhile though they are 2 weeks old today and I think the batch last year started to get pretty brave and exploring further afield by 3 weeks. They spent most of their time in their MHP cave today as far as I could tell since it was only 50°F and the sun doesn't hit the alley until about 5 PM. DW went out when she came home from work and said they were out in a sun spot.
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- #1,180
Bruce
Herd Master
The "kids" decided to escape their side of the chicken wire fence by going under it. Near as I can tell all the older birds ignore them, probably think they aren't any different than the wild finches/sparrows that come in and raid their feeder in the coop. Clemence (Faverolles) seems to show some interest in them, maybe she will decide to shepherd them around.
What happened to my chick???
Sun bath attack! This is Betty. DD1 is having a hard time with me calling Betty's replacement Betty. But she'll get over it, I figure if we have a Veronica we should have a Betty. The DDs did admit that every albino catfish we have had was named Whitey except when there were two then the other one was Lighty.
Here are all the chicks sunbathing
The Barred Rocks don't seem to mind being handled at all. In fact they will step on my hand and hang out when I lift them up. Then stay on my hand when I put it back near the ground.
This is DD2 with Vienna
And DD1 with Arcadia on her shoulder and one of the Golden Campines in her hand
And the boys
What happened to my chick???
Sun bath attack! This is Betty. DD1 is having a hard time with me calling Betty's replacement Betty. But she'll get over it, I figure if we have a Veronica we should have a Betty. The DDs did admit that every albino catfish we have had was named Whitey except when there were two then the other one was Lighty.
Here are all the chicks sunbathing
The Barred Rocks don't seem to mind being handled at all. In fact they will step on my hand and hang out when I lift them up. Then stay on my hand when I put it back near the ground.
This is DD2 with Vienna
And DD1 with Arcadia on her shoulder and one of the Golden Campines in her hand
And the boys
