So we ordered some absolutely beautiful BOs from Estes Hatchery in MO (can't recommend this family-run enterprise enough!) that were hatched 4 weeks ago Monday (straight run). I had some major chicken fever, have wanted them for two years, so was all ready to go:
The beauties arrived... (who knew they could fit 27 chicks in such a little box!):
and fascinated us all... especially my dogs (Nanuck and Leila), and one of our cats (Calleigh):
A few days later, this handsome fella mugged for the camera:
I realized fairly quickly that the brooder I had made would not hold 27 chicks for long, so after consulting the trusty BYC forum archives, we moved the fuzz butts here:
This past week, the chix have really put on the feather growth. They've also gotten pretty big, to the point where the baby pool is getting crowded (ALREADY!!!) and some of them keep flying out. Chickee poo all over the gameroom floor... not so cool.
We had planned to work over the next two weeks on converting the coop, a 10 x 80 overhang along the back of the 'barn' ( a second garage-workshop-building-thingy behind the house), but what with their soon-to-be crowded conditions and failure to STAY in their pool, we decided to move them into the future Goat Shak instead (which is currently great for chix, but for goats? not so much...) and build them a chicken tractor a la Joel Salatin for daytime foraging, similar to this one over at The Deliberate Agrarian... pic of tractor: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/BobBifter/Dad17.jpg ... link to blog post: http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/talkin-bout-my-chicken-tractor.html . I'll post pics of our completed tractor tomorrow or the next...
So, here're my QUESTIONS:
The chickees are mostly feathered, so do they need a heat lamp during the day (we're mid 80s for the foreseeable future)? I tried them without the lamp tonight and they all snuggled next to each other, not sure if cold or scared of the dark, so I turned it back on.
Also, any helpful advice on how to get the chickens from the Goat Shak INTO the tractor every day (I mean other than chasing down each of the 27 individually and putting them in there... and can you believe, I'm a first time chicken mama and not one casualty yet???!!!
I'm putting ACV and DE in their water and food... there are no sources for organic feed or grains (in bulk) locally. Is there anyone on this track with suggestions for online, soybean free sources, especially sources located in the Southeast?
Warm regards, and thanks!
~Shoshana
The beauties arrived... (who knew they could fit 27 chicks in such a little box!):
and fascinated us all... especially my dogs (Nanuck and Leila), and one of our cats (Calleigh):
A few days later, this handsome fella mugged for the camera:
I realized fairly quickly that the brooder I had made would not hold 27 chicks for long, so after consulting the trusty BYC forum archives, we moved the fuzz butts here:
This past week, the chix have really put on the feather growth. They've also gotten pretty big, to the point where the baby pool is getting crowded (ALREADY!!!) and some of them keep flying out. Chickee poo all over the gameroom floor... not so cool.
We had planned to work over the next two weeks on converting the coop, a 10 x 80 overhang along the back of the 'barn' ( a second garage-workshop-building-thingy behind the house), but what with their soon-to-be crowded conditions and failure to STAY in their pool, we decided to move them into the future Goat Shak instead (which is currently great for chix, but for goats? not so much...) and build them a chicken tractor a la Joel Salatin for daytime foraging, similar to this one over at The Deliberate Agrarian... pic of tractor: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/BobBifter/Dad17.jpg ... link to blog post: http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/talkin-bout-my-chicken-tractor.html . I'll post pics of our completed tractor tomorrow or the next...
So, here're my QUESTIONS:
The chickees are mostly feathered, so do they need a heat lamp during the day (we're mid 80s for the foreseeable future)? I tried them without the lamp tonight and they all snuggled next to each other, not sure if cold or scared of the dark, so I turned it back on.
Also, any helpful advice on how to get the chickens from the Goat Shak INTO the tractor every day (I mean other than chasing down each of the 27 individually and putting them in there... and can you believe, I'm a first time chicken mama and not one casualty yet???!!!
I'm putting ACV and DE in their water and food... there are no sources for organic feed or grains (in bulk) locally. Is there anyone on this track with suggestions for online, soybean free sources, especially sources located in the Southeast?
Warm regards, and thanks!
~Shoshana
