Thamasin
In the Brooder
My (10) 5 week old heavy mixed girls are outside in a run that is about 12x50. They are cooped up at night in a extra large dog house. I've fenced off half of it, and really beefed up fence security in that half. The other half will be fine as far as fencing goes, now that they are so much bigger. My new order of 15 chicks is coming next week. My plan is to keep the babies in the bathtub for a week or so. This worked very well earlier, as it gave my Labrador some time to get used to them, under close scrutiny. I'm planning to use a utility van for the permanent coop, and back it into the lower end of the run (the so far, unused part). I want to move the pullets there, and use what is already a great setup for the new babies once they move outside. They will be adjacent, but separate. I'm hoping that after a few weeks, I can remove the separating fence, and everyone will live peacefully in the van, and then they can be somewhat mobile. The new chicks coming are mixed Cochins (15), straight run, and 3 whiting blue. Going into the winter.....I plan on keeping my favorite cochin roo, and 15 layers. I love cochins, and I'm hoping that they will be good moms next spring. Sound good?
