- Mar 13, 2014
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Sorry I have so many questions - I just didn't want to make three separate threads, so I'm going to squish them all together here.
First off, the heat light. I have four chicks at the moment with a 100 watt red light in their coop. Three are 4 weeks old and one is 3 weeks old. The 4 week-olds have almost all their feathers in, but the younger one (Miss Zorro) still has about half that need to come in. Can I turn the light off now, or does it need to stay on for Miss Zorro to stay warm? She snuggles with the other chicks; will that keep her warm enough? The coop is outside - It is about 80 degrees during the day and 55 degrees during the night. Should I turn off the light, turn it off during the day only, or leave it on?
Second, I'm not sure when to pertinently let out the chicks with the older chickens I have. There are four of them and they are only nine weeks old so technically they are still considered "chicks," but they look like adults. At the moment the younger chicks are in a dog kennel in the coop and have been there for two weeks. I have let them out with the others for a few hours during the day (three at the max). I supervise them a lot. Mostly what I notice is that when the chicks start to explore out of the coop (in the run), the older chicks chase them back into the coop and the kennel. They have gotten more then a few good pecks and feathers pulled out, but no blood has been spilled. The thing that worries me the most is that one of the older chicks is a cockerel and the most aggressive with the younger chicks. He will chase them all over and peck them harder then the rest. The other thing that worries me is that the coop is not very big yet, so at night when I close it up the younger chicks wouldn't have much room to run away. With all that in mind, what do you think I should do? Should I start keeping them together 24/7? Should I keep them together during the day and apart at night? Or the other way around?
And last, we had to spray the weeds in the gravel area of our yard. They are the kind that leave horrible thorns as well as foxtails that get stuck in everything. One got stuck in my dog's paw and made it swell up like a balloon. They were sprayed five days ago tomorrow, and so the chickens have been kept locked in their run. They keep looking at me like, "why won't you let us out?" I feel bad... they are so bored and going stir crazy. Do you think it's okay to let them out now? All the weeds effected by the spray seem to be dead or near-dead. If not, how long until they can come out?
Thanks
First off, the heat light. I have four chicks at the moment with a 100 watt red light in their coop. Three are 4 weeks old and one is 3 weeks old. The 4 week-olds have almost all their feathers in, but the younger one (Miss Zorro) still has about half that need to come in. Can I turn the light off now, or does it need to stay on for Miss Zorro to stay warm? She snuggles with the other chicks; will that keep her warm enough? The coop is outside - It is about 80 degrees during the day and 55 degrees during the night. Should I turn off the light, turn it off during the day only, or leave it on?
Second, I'm not sure when to pertinently let out the chicks with the older chickens I have. There are four of them and they are only nine weeks old so technically they are still considered "chicks," but they look like adults. At the moment the younger chicks are in a dog kennel in the coop and have been there for two weeks. I have let them out with the others for a few hours during the day (three at the max). I supervise them a lot. Mostly what I notice is that when the chicks start to explore out of the coop (in the run), the older chicks chase them back into the coop and the kennel. They have gotten more then a few good pecks and feathers pulled out, but no blood has been spilled. The thing that worries me the most is that one of the older chicks is a cockerel and the most aggressive with the younger chicks. He will chase them all over and peck them harder then the rest. The other thing that worries me is that the coop is not very big yet, so at night when I close it up the younger chicks wouldn't have much room to run away. With all that in mind, what do you think I should do? Should I start keeping them together 24/7? Should I keep them together during the day and apart at night? Or the other way around?
And last, we had to spray the weeds in the gravel area of our yard. They are the kind that leave horrible thorns as well as foxtails that get stuck in everything. One got stuck in my dog's paw and made it swell up like a balloon. They were sprayed five days ago tomorrow, and so the chickens have been kept locked in their run. They keep looking at me like, "why won't you let us out?" I feel bad... they are so bored and going stir crazy. Do you think it's okay to let them out now? All the weeds effected by the spray seem to be dead or near-dead. If not, how long until they can come out?
Thanks
