Chick Update

I have had the new Chicks for two weeks now and they are so much bigger now. I though it was time to show off the Kids again!

And here they are! They seem to be putting on the feathers well.

And this little girl seems to be the biggest of the flock!

They are always running around the brooder and trying out their wings. They do not trust me and they do not like to be handled much. The one in the upper left is "Chipmunk". I can tell because the stripe on her head is more brown the that on "Odd Ball".

They are in need of a roost and I need to get one put together. The other day it was 84 degrees outside and much warmer than that up stairs. All of them were holding their wings out and patting. So I turned out the heat lamp and opened the windows to get some air flow going. I left it that way when I went to work that night and when I got home the next morning, it was in the 50's. They were all huddled in a corner of the brooder, so I turned the lamp back on and closed the windows.
They were ready for breakfast and some cool, clean water. They are getting to the point of not having enough room in the brooder. And I have had to put a top cover on it. I'm afraid that they will figure out that they can jump up to the top and get out. And I do not need them running around the room upstairs.
So the first thing I will have to do on my time off is, Get a coop built! And figure out some fencing! I have an idea of using PVC to build a temporary fence until the budget will allow me to get the stuff to build a proper fence and a better coop.
After all, The Easter Egger's will be in the 16TH! MORE BABY'S!
Tom

Down to 5!

Morning everyone,
The joy I felt yesterday has been dashed! I went to check on the babies this morning and found one of them dead. I believe that it was the one I named "Droopy". She didn't hold her wings up against her sides like the rest of them do. But carried them low to the ground. This should have told me something was wrong with her to begin with.
But I did not pick any of them out, The manager did. I was just so happy to be getting my first Chicks and getting them home! Next time I will pay more attention to the ones I get and will decide witch ones go into the box!
I only had one other that needed her "Fluffy Butt" cleaned this morning. She was not happy that I had to do this, but she is clean now and I will watch her to make sure that she stays that way!
Fresh food and water was given to all and they seem to be doing alright.
With the loss of the one, all I want to do now is sit by the brooder and keep an eye on them. But that's not going to happen as I have other things to do today and tonight is a work night (How can I leave them all alone?!). So on to other things!
Tom

The Chickens are coming, The chickens are coming!

Long before I made the move to the Homestead, I knew that I wanted chickens! All kinds and lots of them!
I read a post over at skymindedandevergrowing.blogspot.com about the niffy Brooder that Tool Lady had built for their new chicks. And I knew that I had to build one.
With a few tweaks this is what I came up with!

Here it is in all it's newness! The thing I did here that was different then what "Tool Lady did, was I put legs on it to raise it up enough to slide the tray underneath. And all the dimensions are fit to the tray. As you can see, I even have the heat lamp in place!

The tray came from one of the Rabbit cages I got. Didn't need for the Rabbits. It is 2' square and about 3" deep.

The floor is 1/4" Hardware Cloth stapled to a wooden frame that drops right in. And to remove it, I bent a couple nails into hooks and it lifts right out!

While the little ones are....Well LITTLE, I will cover the floor with newsprint to keep their little feet from getting caught in the wire flooring.

And cover that with a layer of wood chips. I will just remove the newsprint and let the chips and poop fall into the tray. Slide it out, dump it in the garden, reinstall the tray and reload the floor. Later when they are bigger, I will leave out the full sheet of newsprint and only place it in a corner to give the little tike's a comfortable place to sleep.

So Bee Girl, If you or Tool Lady are reading this, What do ya think? See I do learn somethings from reading your Blog! I used one of my favorite tools building this! A "Pocket Hole Jig". The floor frame and walls are held together with Pocket Screws.

All I have to do now is get a feeder and water bottle......And of course the CHICKS! And I will be getting them first thing in the morning!
Next building project....Chicken Coop for grownups!
Tonight I will go to sleep counting EGGS!
Tom