hello everyone! this is my first post. thank you in advance for your wisdom. over the summer you all helped me save two of my hens, and helped me understand why three of them died (florida heat...)
my barred rock (7 mo old) has been sitting on 12 eggs (one day's laying from our flock) for almost three weeks. her 20 days will be up this friday and we have her in a large cage dog crate in the coop, with the other 18 hens and one rooster (who go in and out of the coop all day). assuming some of the eggs hatch (i'm trying not to get overly excited here, since it is her first brood, and ours, and she may have let the eggs get a little cold a couple of times...
) what do i need to do to ensure the chicks' safety?
here are my concerns:
1-how do i get the chicks to eat their starter feed and not the Layena crumbles? Ie a way for them to get to their feed without the big hens eating it all up. how do i stop them eating the big hens' feed (especially as the chicks get older and taller and can reach the feeder on the cement block)?
2-the way we have our coop set up (it's a one room trailer that came with the house when we bought it), the hens march up a plank to a high window and then march down a plank out into the run. the window is at shoulder height and i don't want the chicks trying to go up it and then falling. so i thought of removing the inside plank altogether and making the big hens fly up to the window. that way no danger for chicks. but, does this mean the mother hen will be so desperate to get outside that she'll leave her chicks in the coop unprotected, while she goes and dust bathes, etc? or will she stay with them? will the chicks be ok in her absence? will the sky fall in? (here i'm starting to go down my personal chickie rabbit hole..)
3-is it ok for the chicks to stay in the coop for a few weeks, until they're big enough to negotiate the Plank of Doom (and Freedom)? Should i just put cushions under the window in preparation for the inevitable falls?
A trampoline?
4- the coop has a full size mesh door, facing the sun in the afternoon, so they will be able to get some sun, even if they're kept in the coop until they're bigger. do they need to be outside more than this? should i set up a box in the coop with sand for dustbaths? am i fussing too much? i know mama will know best, but i want to set her up for success and not frustration and difficulties.
5- we freerange the hens from 3pm every day until sundown. i would love to let out the new family into the garden proper (which they could do through the main front, mesh door. there wouldn't be a risk of falling there, and it would enable mother hen and chicks to be out in the air). but we have three cats who, although they respect the hens and rooster, would love to dispatch a chickie to hen heaven. will mama be up to the task of protecting them out and about? i can't put the cats away. one is semi feral, the other two are just always out and about and never where i expect them to be.
6- are there other things i could add to my worry list that i've not yet thought of? feel free to point out more obvious concerns that i may not have considered.
that's it. i probably sound like a worry wort... and i am.
:cd
:cd
my barred rock (7 mo old) has been sitting on 12 eggs (one day's laying from our flock) for almost three weeks. her 20 days will be up this friday and we have her in a large cage dog crate in the coop, with the other 18 hens and one rooster (who go in and out of the coop all day). assuming some of the eggs hatch (i'm trying not to get overly excited here, since it is her first brood, and ours, and she may have let the eggs get a little cold a couple of times...
here are my concerns:
1-how do i get the chicks to eat their starter feed and not the Layena crumbles? Ie a way for them to get to their feed without the big hens eating it all up. how do i stop them eating the big hens' feed (especially as the chicks get older and taller and can reach the feeder on the cement block)?
2-the way we have our coop set up (it's a one room trailer that came with the house when we bought it), the hens march up a plank to a high window and then march down a plank out into the run. the window is at shoulder height and i don't want the chicks trying to go up it and then falling. so i thought of removing the inside plank altogether and making the big hens fly up to the window. that way no danger for chicks. but, does this mean the mother hen will be so desperate to get outside that she'll leave her chicks in the coop unprotected, while she goes and dust bathes, etc? or will she stay with them? will the chicks be ok in her absence? will the sky fall in? (here i'm starting to go down my personal chickie rabbit hole..)
3-is it ok for the chicks to stay in the coop for a few weeks, until they're big enough to negotiate the Plank of Doom (and Freedom)? Should i just put cushions under the window in preparation for the inevitable falls?
4- the coop has a full size mesh door, facing the sun in the afternoon, so they will be able to get some sun, even if they're kept in the coop until they're bigger. do they need to be outside more than this? should i set up a box in the coop with sand for dustbaths? am i fussing too much? i know mama will know best, but i want to set her up for success and not frustration and difficulties.
5- we freerange the hens from 3pm every day until sundown. i would love to let out the new family into the garden proper (which they could do through the main front, mesh door. there wouldn't be a risk of falling there, and it would enable mother hen and chicks to be out in the air). but we have three cats who, although they respect the hens and rooster, would love to dispatch a chickie to hen heaven. will mama be up to the task of protecting them out and about? i can't put the cats away. one is semi feral, the other two are just always out and about and never where i expect them to be.
6- are there other things i could add to my worry list that i've not yet thought of? feel free to point out more obvious concerns that i may not have considered.
that's it. i probably sound like a worry wort... and i am.
:cd:cd
