I have 28 chicks that are various ages, between 6 and 8 weeks. Some were hatched in my incubator, and the some by 2 different broodies. One broody has since died
So l have had the chicks in the coop in a cage for a week and decided to leave the cage door open. Some come out, some don't. When it was time for bed last night I tried to count chicks and thought I was missing one. Many of them are the same color so it is hard to count all those little heads. So I closed up the cages for the night. This morning there was one chick in the coop and not in the cage so I knew that my head count was right and that he was hanging out with the big guys. Momma hen decided last night that she was done with the chicks, and this morning she laid me an egg. I love her
Tonight I locked them up again and this time I looked in the nesting boxes. And there, underneath one of my hugh (in comparison) Columbian Wyandotte roos is this little chick. It is from the youngest brood, and a bantam to boot. Not only did it manage to navigate the chicken ladder to get up to the nest box, but it also moved right in with the big guys and looked right at home. I think my big birds and afraid of them
I don't really want them roosting in the nest boxes, but that will be dealt with later on when I rebuild the coop.
I also found some of the chicks roosting on the roost, which my adult birds would never do. Maybe these little guys/gals can teach them some new tricks.
I think the integration is going well. It is really fun to watch the chicken ineractions, but the babies seem to rule.
So l have had the chicks in the coop in a cage for a week and decided to leave the cage door open. Some come out, some don't. When it was time for bed last night I tried to count chicks and thought I was missing one. Many of them are the same color so it is hard to count all those little heads. So I closed up the cages for the night. This morning there was one chick in the coop and not in the cage so I knew that my head count was right and that he was hanging out with the big guys. Momma hen decided last night that she was done with the chicks, and this morning she laid me an egg. I love her
Tonight I locked them up again and this time I looked in the nesting boxes. And there, underneath one of my hugh (in comparison) Columbian Wyandotte roos is this little chick. It is from the youngest brood, and a bantam to boot. Not only did it manage to navigate the chicken ladder to get up to the nest box, but it also moved right in with the big guys and looked right at home. I think my big birds and afraid of them
I also found some of the chicks roosting on the roost, which my adult birds would never do. Maybe these little guys/gals can teach them some new tricks.
I think the integration is going well. It is really fun to watch the chicken ineractions, but the babies seem to rule.
