From Civilian to Chicken Rancher timeline. - Page 18

May 30

I remembered the Coop Cam had a jack for a microphone.  So I found a computer mike that would work and plugged it in.  Hung the mike just above the heater.

If you follow the Coop Cam access instructions in earlier post and then click on "Audio" you can listen in!

Chicks must be content because they are pretty quiet this morning.

June 4

All 9 chickens have celebrated their 2 week Birthday today!

The little pooping machines sure do grow quick. 

I noticed the last few nights they were sleeping half under the heater and half out.  I figure since they have double in size they were too hot so I raised the heater up one notch on the legs.  I also took the opportunity to clean all the poop of the top of the heater too.

Then they all huddled in to corner giving the eye because there was something "strange" about the heater.

After they all had a conference they decided the heater wasn't going to attack them and all is well.

They liked "roosting" on the black legs of the heater (and pooping all over it).  So I added a log that was a little higher then the heater legs.  Didn't take them too long to figure out it was a good place to sit and watch over their domain.  Hopefully this will help keep the top of the heater cleaner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ailurophile23 

They look healthy - fat, fluffy and starting to get feathered.  Good move with the log - you are thinking like a chicken already!

I think that is a complement....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakoda 

great pics! glad I stuck with my brinsea, even tho the chicks have only been here a couple hours, they love it, and it seems not to hot nor to cold

Mine took to the Brinsea like ducks to water...or I mean eggs to bacon...ahh...like peeps to their mother!

June 7

I used 3 bales of wood chips to restrict the chicks to half of the coop.  Chickens were using their log roost to get to the top of the bales!  If they flew off on the wrong side they wouldn't be able to get to their heater.

So I stacked the bales of wood chips in the corner, blocked off the two nesting boxes so they have access to almost all of the coop.

I also put in a roosting bar at the lowest position.  Didn't take long for chick to start using the roosting bar!

Cute aren't I?

June 9

Chicks are spending less and less time by the heater and I'll be working outside today.  So I opened the chick door to the run.

Cautious little poopy butts they are!  Took them about 2 hours to finally stand in the doorway, couple of more hours to actually into the chunnel.

By the end of the day they had pooped all over the floor of the chunnel but won't go down the ramp into the run.

So I turn on computer control so the chicken door would start opening (at dawn) and close (at dusk) automatically.  Coop lights will come on 15 minutes before dusk and off 15 minutes after dusk.

My main concern that at their age (not fully feathered) they still need heat and I don't want any to get locked out of the coop.  So I'll be doing a beak count via coop cam every night to sure they are all in.