Chicken Math Got Me Bad....

[AnneGirlGG]

Yesterday was really hard. Susie was named after my mom and was my favorite chick from this batch. Culling her to put her out of her misery was probably the hardest chicken thing I’ve had to do.

You have no idea how glad I was to come home and see everyone running around and happy. I didn’t even mind dealing with the cecal poops on top of the brooder cover!

That is really tough. I'm so sorry.

Try Glad Press and Seal on the brooder plate top. I use it on top of mine, and it's so much easier to pull that off and replace it twice a day than to scrub heated on poops.

 

[Sefirothe]

That is really tough. I'm so sorry.

Try Glad Press and Seal on the brooder plate top. I use it on top of mine, and it's so much easier to pull that off and replace it twice a day than to scrub heated on poops.

Oh no, I foresaw that and got the plastic triangle dome cover for the brooder heat plate.

I was talking about the roof of the entire brooder itself. It’s two smooth grey translucent plastic grid sheets. The babies like to hang out up there out of the adults reach. There’s always a bunch of cecal poops plus cecal poops walked in and tracked all over it.

I tried putting some sheets of nest pad material on there. Hopefully the little jerks don’t kick them off and realize they are nice to sit on and warm their toes up.

Well I tried to add a pic, but it wouldn’t upload.

 

[Sefirothe]

Now it works.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

Oh no, I foresaw that and got the plastic triangle dome cover for the brooder heat plate.

I was talking about the roof of the entire brooder itself. It’s two smooth grey translucent plastic grid sheets. The babies like to hang out up there out of the adults reach. There’s always a bunch of cecal poops plus cecal poops walked in and tracked all over it.

I tried putting some sheets of nest pad material on there. Hopefully the little jerks don’t kick them off and realize they are nice to sit on and warm their toes up.

Well I tried to add a pic, but it wouldn’t upload.

Haha I misunderstood! That is hilarious. They do like to leave cecal poops on the most inconvenient surfaces. Of the 16 I have in the coop at the moment, only 7 do not have feathered feet. Ah, the mess...

 

[Sefirothe]

Haha I misunderstood! That is hilarious. They do like to leave cecal poops on the most inconvenient surfaces. Of the 16 I have in the coop at the moment, only 7 do not have feathered feet. Ah, the mess...

Four of the remaining ten are also feather footed so I feel your pain!

 

[AnneGirlGG]

Four of the remaining ten are also feather footed so I feel your pain!

I just love the little feathered feet though, so I can't resist! I've got 14 bantam cochin chicks in the brooder now. But I think most are male and therefore will be rehomed. I'll keep any females though.

 

[Sefirothe]

Chicks are four weeks old.

It’s only getting colder.

They are no longer reliably fitting under the heat plate I have. They do the musical sleeping spot shuffle all night long with chicks getting shoved out from under the plate then the ousted one buries her way back into the pile under the plate. Only to shove someone else out.

Debating either removing the plate and giving them a big pile of shavings to snuggle into or buying a bigger plate for a few more weeks.

 

[Folly's place]

We have two plates, and just like the store-bought coops, the plates are advertised as holding more chicks than actually fit. Get a bigger one!
Mary

 

[Sefirothe]

We have two plates, and just like the store-bought coops, the plates are advertised as holding more chicks than actually fit. Get a bigger one!
Mary

Or maybe their count is only for day old chicks. And ignores the reality of how fast the little boogers grow!!!

 

[Sefirothe]

Have to figure out how to fit a bigger one in the space I have. The plate in there is 12”x12”.

I could maybe take a wire cutter and cut a portion of the right side wall of the crate out.