5 day old chick trying to fly out of brooder

[dhunt81]

Is it normal for a 5-day old chick to be trying to fly out of the brooder? It is about 16 inches high and of our four chicks, one is trying desperately to fly out and has been almost successful several times. I think it may be a rooster, he’s a real jerk.. We only have these chicks for a few more days as it was part of a homeschool chick hatching experience. Is there anything I can put over the top of the bin of prevent mr smarty pants from escaping?

 

[benevolent_leonela]

Because of my cats I took some old goat fencing that I had laying around, snipped it to size and bent the corners/edges in to the shape of the brooder. though that can vary based on what you are using as a brooder. At the time I was using a 120 gallon water trough for livestock.

hope this provides some perspective are the chicks going to a good home?

 

[rosemarythyme]

All brooders should be covered to prevent fly/hop outs. Hardware cloth, bird netting stretched taut on a frame (to prevent tangling), window screens, can all be used to cover while providing ventilation.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sounds like a fun project! Chickens are birds. Birds fly. Sixteen inches is not very high. Cover the brooder or put your baby flying dinosaurs in something bigger! Good luck to your little adventurers!

 

[Coops Dad]

I use a 125 gallon heavy duty rubbermaid water trough as a brooder. It's about 24" high and the chicks usually can't fly out until they're 3 weeks old; by that time, they're ready for the outdoors chick pen. This last hatch, my wife found one chick would hop on top of the waterer then leap out. Once out, it would do its distress chirp until DW would put it back in with the crew.