Agreed.
My chicks are outside with their heating pad brooders. They often move out at 48 hours old, and I'm in gardening zone 4, in Central Maine. So, any time is the right time to move them out, if they have the right amount of heat and are in a safe enclosure. (if you can push a quarter through any hole, a weasel can get in. And most predators can tear chicken wire to shreds.)Thank you Stephanie again like I said I am new to this chick and Mommy thing. I do have a giant dog kennel that was for my Greyhound which I'm sure they will be very happy and until they move outside period but it's still chilly here in New England. But I think I figured out what was the deal with the heat. That they red heat lamp even though it was only 125 and I had it high up over the cage I think it was heating up the whole entire cage and even though it was only 80 it was 80 in the whole cage! I just went out and check them the cage is 80 I move the thermometer back where it is supposed to be like it was in the other cage by the Light. Everybody is happy including Mommy.
Princess, any chance you could cobble together a chicken tractor? It's all straight cuts. My first tractor is 3 x 6' and I use it every year for chicks, broody hens, etc. Or, you could buy a couple of cattle panels, and put up a simple CP structure that can be a grow out coop for now (till hubby gets the time to build that coop). A simple CP structure can have rebar posts in the soil to maintain the arc. Then you can frame in the ends and put a simple door in one end. Some folks even use CP on the ends as well, and zip tie the CP to the arcs, and then zip tie the HW cloth to the CP. The beauty of a CP structure is it's stupid simple to build, and it can be repurposed for a green house later, or if you make a 2 x 4 bottom frame for it, it will be a moveable tractor that will have infinite use around your yard. If this old biddy (61 y.o.) can build a couple of tractors, and a CP coop/green house, I bet you can cobble something together!The thing is I have 4 cats and four rabbits along with some fish and now 12 chickens. I used to have Greyhounds but right now I am dogless. So everything has to have a lot of thought put into it. I have a huge basement where I bring the bunnies in the winter but I also have the cats and I don't want them around the chickens. The weather is supposed to warm up incredibly this week and I think it's going to stay that way once and for all here in New England. I can have them outside in the giant dog cage and also in the yard with a fence around it while I'm working at my Plant Farm. But they will have to go into the big cage at night and I will put them in the greenhouse to keep them safe. I may just buy a starter Chicken Coop from Tractor Supply until my husband has a chance to make the coop. He is a contractor and a builder and has his own business but he is also a part-time EMT and fireman and works a full-time job at the utility department. He's head of this that and the other thing and I don't know how many boards he is on! LOL I just wish I was more handy when it came to a hammer and nails. I'm a horticulturist/ designer so as soon as the coop is built I will create them a paradise LOL!
