Tales from the Tent (Day 38):
Well, it's bittersweet, but with the warm weather gods on my side here in Michigan this weekend (and into next week), I decided to move my babies to the coop/run permanently!! They spent their first night in the coop last night. Low was 50F, and I DO have a Sweeter...
Tales from the Tent (Day 30):
The Buff Orps: Biscuit, Ginny, Wheezy, & Pippy,
and
The Barred Rocks: Remy, Loki, Roxy, & CoCo...
...Are officially 4 weeks old! I'm still quite happy, overall, with the tent brooder situation. The aspen bedding seems to be working better than the hemp for poop...
It goes so fast!! You can't tell from the pic I posted, but they are looking and acting crazy these days! I think we'll all be glad when they're in the coop/run full time. 😅🥴
Tales from the Tent (Day 23):
All chicks are still healthy, even though they look (and act) absolutely insane. I don't knownhow anyone uses a smaller brooder - the way these chicks act up, they need every sq. ft of space I've provided 😅.
Dust update: I'm just over 3 weeks in and I'm still not...
Tales from the Tent (Day 16): Everyone is getting lots of new feathers. The BPRs are starting to show their stripes, and everyone is getting real scrappy 😈 - starting to figure that pecking order. In the a.m., when the lights come up, they eat and drink and fly/run around the tent; bumping into...
Tales from the Tent (Day 12):
The chicks spent a day or two less interested in me, but still visiting my lap here and there. Yesterday and today, they're back to immediately jumping up and snuggling in for a short nap. It's literally the BEST! 🥰
(little Roxy - on the top right - is in the...
I think that's part of the problem here. I'm pretty sure they can reach the feed - its very close to the cutout inside (there's really no "neck" on the part that attaches to the bucket), but they aren't keen on sticking their heads all the way into the dark hole to get at it. Maybe with time. 🥴
I had read that about the chicks losing interest in their human when they got to be adolescent/teens, lol. They change literally every day! I'm not overly worried about them ignoring me, as I believe that just being present will keep them friendly toward me (or at the very least not terrified of...
Added some enrichment to the brooder! At nearly 2 weeks old, the chicks are getting curious and adventurous, but they're cautiously exploring the new *play ground*.
They're a bit less interested in me when I hang out in the brooder now, but if I stay long enough, all 8 of them will be sleeping...
The brooder is back to hemp bedding! That shredded paper had to go. It was very soft and fluffy, but super messy with the poops - sticking to little feet - and starting to get a little smelly after only a few days.
Things I'm noticing with the chicks (that don't have anything to do with the...
I will be sure to update with any dust issues that may arise (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I've taken enough preventative measures and the tent will do a good job of keeping it at bay :fl ). The good news is there's no carpet and no furniture in the room - it was essentially empty - so...
That's somewhat reassuring! I'm watching them very closely. Thankfully most of the chunks are too big for them to eat (I think), and they seem to just be picking at it a lot. They are, however, likely eating some of the smaller bits. They're eating their grit and feed (and drinking lots of...
Well, I'm committed to documenting things, good, and maybe not so good (I'm always open to advice and constructive criticism), about my tent experiment. So, I had been using hemp bedding - I put 2 bags of Eaton Pet & Pasture in bottom of the tent (over a liner of bed pads). The chicks were...
Thank you for that perspective! I was warned about the dust and I did get quite a large air cleaner for the bedroom they're in to try and cut down on some of that. I'm also hopeful that the tent itself will contain much of the dust (because of the way it's designed), but only time will tell! The...
Good advice, thank you! I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that! For now, I have a cardboard "wall" around the entire inside of the bottom of the tent, so I'm hoping that will deter them from picking at the walls of it. However, I'm not sure how effective my "walls" will be as they get older! 😅
BRO! It's totally possible - as long as you have the space! My spare bedroom isn't being used, and didn't really have any furniture in it, so setting up the 8x8 tent there was super easy (just make sure the tent has LOTS of ventilation). In my first post here, I describe the steps I took from...