Hi all:
So glad I found this form. I have never raised chickens before. In fact up until now I have been afraid of birds. But with the economy the way it is I thought I would raise chickens if only for thr eggs. SOOOO, I planned on 10 hens, Ordered 25 chicks because EVERYONE said if you want to end up with 10 you better get 25. Mc Murrays sent 25 darling, precious chicks plus 1 bonus chick and two extras. I lost two the first week. So here I am with 26 51/2 week old chicks. My question' I have a 4 foot by 4 foot coop that sits about 18" off the ground. The coop sits inside a 10 ' X 20' old dog kennel run that is very secure. The chicks were starting to pick at each others tails so they needed more room. I put them outside yesterday. They love it but I have the heat lamp inside the coop. I thought they would be drawn to the light and go back inside the coop at night. Well, most of them don't go in I don't think they will go up the ramp. Today I spread feed and their little feeders up the ramp. Some chicks went back in but most chicks stayed outside. So I picked them all up after dark and put them all in the coop and closed them up inside overnight. Night time temps are high 30's low 40's. Like I said, the coop is 4' X 4', and I switched the light to a red light. Which is worse, locking them all up inside the 4' X 4' coop overnight or leaving them out all night without a lamp. Will they learn to go up the ramp? If I keep putting them in the coop each night am I not letting them learn how to go up and down the ramp? When I let them out in the morning they don't walk down the ramp they fly from the coop lip to the ground.
Oh, BTW, I could spend hours watching my babies-I just love these little chicks.
I apologize for the length of this post and thank anyone with advise. I think I'm chick addicted.
So glad I found this form. I have never raised chickens before. In fact up until now I have been afraid of birds. But with the economy the way it is I thought I would raise chickens if only for thr eggs. SOOOO, I planned on 10 hens, Ordered 25 chicks because EVERYONE said if you want to end up with 10 you better get 25. Mc Murrays sent 25 darling, precious chicks plus 1 bonus chick and two extras. I lost two the first week. So here I am with 26 51/2 week old chicks. My question' I have a 4 foot by 4 foot coop that sits about 18" off the ground. The coop sits inside a 10 ' X 20' old dog kennel run that is very secure. The chicks were starting to pick at each others tails so they needed more room. I put them outside yesterday. They love it but I have the heat lamp inside the coop. I thought they would be drawn to the light and go back inside the coop at night. Well, most of them don't go in I don't think they will go up the ramp. Today I spread feed and their little feeders up the ramp. Some chicks went back in but most chicks stayed outside. So I picked them all up after dark and put them all in the coop and closed them up inside overnight. Night time temps are high 30's low 40's. Like I said, the coop is 4' X 4', and I switched the light to a red light. Which is worse, locking them all up inside the 4' X 4' coop overnight or leaving them out all night without a lamp. Will they learn to go up the ramp? If I keep putting them in the coop each night am I not letting them learn how to go up and down the ramp? When I let them out in the morning they don't walk down the ramp they fly from the coop lip to the ground.
Oh, BTW, I could spend hours watching my babies-I just love these little chicks.
I apologize for the length of this post and thank anyone with advise. I think I'm chick addicted.
