We had to do some coop alterations today so I decided to let the babies out for their first official legal free range. (we try not to talk about when they escaped that one time)
We had to lure them out! Apparently they still remember how mad Dad got when they escaped! Once they were out and realized I wasn't mad at them they had a ball! They stayed close to their coop and pretty much stayed together. The Dark Brahma is apparently in charge of the babies, because they didn't move until she did. One of the Silver Wyandottes did get a little nosy and wandered out from the protection of the bushes they were under and the Brahma ran after her and chased her back under the bush!
In the little coop we cleaned it out really good and added a permanent roost and a nesting box complete with curtains! The Brahma and Buffs are starting to squat and according to my calender they should start laying in the next few weeks , so just in case I installed a nesting box. Plus later this fall when we've gotten everybody installed in the big coop , the little coop will become our isolation coop.
Then we moved on to the big coop! I decided to go ahead and let all the older girls out with the babies just to see how they acted. Everyone seemed to get along fine, except the leghorns! They were fighting amoungst themselves but left everybody else alone! I know that we will have to watch Gertrude (the ruler of the big coop) and the Brahma ( ruler of the little coop) but they behaved today! Basically both flocks kept to themselves with about 15 feet of space between the two. There seemed to be alot of conversation and craning of necks but they didn't mingle, even when I was tossing out treats! The older girls gobbled up all the treats and the babies just watched...
We gave the big coop a good cleaning and finally installed curtains on the nesting boxes. After cleaning out the big coop I was filling up the nesting boxes with fresh shavings and stapling the top of the curtains, when Lala ( a red comet) decided to come in and supervise! I did not see her climb into the bag of pine shavings, so when I dragged the bag over to the roosting ladders and proceeded to dump out the bag to spread under the roosts I got quite a vocal surprise!
She let me know she was NOT pleased with me messing up HER nest!
We've decided that this weekend we will move the 5 leghorns to the little coop, until they are either sold as laying hens or sent to freezer camp. Then we will put everybody else in the big coop so they can get used to the new pecking order before the new layers get started. Hopefully that'll work!
Big Coop Curtains
Little Coop new roosting bar and nesting box with curtains
Babies first free range day!
In the little coop we cleaned it out really good and added a permanent roost and a nesting box complete with curtains! The Brahma and Buffs are starting to squat and according to my calender they should start laying in the next few weeks , so just in case I installed a nesting box. Plus later this fall when we've gotten everybody installed in the big coop , the little coop will become our isolation coop.
Then we moved on to the big coop! I decided to go ahead and let all the older girls out with the babies just to see how they acted. Everyone seemed to get along fine, except the leghorns! They were fighting amoungst themselves but left everybody else alone! I know that we will have to watch Gertrude (the ruler of the big coop) and the Brahma ( ruler of the little coop) but they behaved today! Basically both flocks kept to themselves with about 15 feet of space between the two. There seemed to be alot of conversation and craning of necks but they didn't mingle, even when I was tossing out treats! The older girls gobbled up all the treats and the babies just watched...
We gave the big coop a good cleaning and finally installed curtains on the nesting boxes. After cleaning out the big coop I was filling up the nesting boxes with fresh shavings and stapling the top of the curtains, when Lala ( a red comet) decided to come in and supervise! I did not see her climb into the bag of pine shavings, so when I dragged the bag over to the roosting ladders and proceeded to dump out the bag to spread under the roosts I got quite a vocal surprise!
We've decided that this weekend we will move the 5 leghorns to the little coop, until they are either sold as laying hens or sent to freezer camp. Then we will put everybody else in the big coop so they can get used to the new pecking order before the new layers get started. Hopefully that'll work!
Big Coop Curtains
Little Coop new roosting bar and nesting box with curtains
Babies first free range day!
