Cleaning the Brooder

[junior67]

Chicalina,
I sooo needed to hear this! So wait, the Mozart is too much? I do in fact play sounds of nature with a babbling brook in the background tho......
Oh Chicalina, i appreciate you and the time you took to set me straight. (like, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me, "Pull yourself together woman!" LOL Excellent!

I am also "new" (again as I used to raise them when I was younger but that was many years ago) to chicks. Mine are 6 weeks old and I understand being nervous! I did socialize mine and the brooder was in my daughters room and we have cats and dogs (the brooder was 100% safe from them) so they got used to seeing the other pets, hearing noises, tv, radio etc. I started bringing them out into the run this week to explore (it wasn't ready before this) and they were scared and traveled as a group but loved it for the first big. then started to go off on their own or in pairs. We sit in their with them and talk and move around etc. I had worked to do on the coop/run so asked about doing it when they were in it on here and was told it was fine they would adjust. They were nervous at first but then did adjust to the sounds of the hammer/nails and the drill etc. So it is great advice that you were given. But I completely understand where you are too as I was nervous about it all too. In fact they are in their coop for the first time overnight tonight and i am a wreck! LOL

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I am also "new" (again as I used to raise them when I was younger but that was many years ago) to chicks. Mine are 6 weeks old and I understand being nervous! I did socialize mine and the brooder was in my daughters room and we have cats and dogs (the brooder was 100% safe from them) so they got used to seeing the other pets, hearing noises, tv, radio etc. I started bringing them out into the run this week to explore (it wasn't ready before this) and they were scared and traveled as a group but loved it for the first big. then started to go off on their own or in pairs. We sit in their with them and talk and move around etc. I had worked to do on the coop/run so asked about doing it when they were in it on here and was told it was fine they would adjust. They were nervous at first but then did adjust to the sounds of the hammer/nails and the drill etc. So it is great advice that you were given. But I completely understand where you are too as I was nervous about it all too. In fact they are in their coop for the first time overnight tonight and i am a wreck! LOL

Junior! Thats so cool to read! I am currently running around painting 2x4's and what nots to get their coop built. I think I will be sleeping outside with them the first night they are outside
How did they do last night? The little precious babes. I'm so used to seeing them ALL the time as they are set up right in the middle of the living room. I stopped trying to be all quite and careful like Chicalina taught me.
You experts have NO idea how helpful you are

 

[ksato003]

Chicks don't like brooders that open from the top, and human hands reaching at them from above - it triggers their fear of death from aerial predators. Looks like you figured out a better way of picking them up - very good! If you brood chicks again in the future, consider a brooder that opens from the front instead of from the top, and place it high up on a table so you can look straight across at them, not down at them. They'll be less afraid that way.

I couldn't agree more with what Chicalina said! Get them used to sounds, sights, movements, everything. Put them in a dog crate and take them outside for a walk. Put them in the back yard for a bit, near the street so they hear cars honking and trucks rolling by. Mow the lawn. They need to get desensitized to the sights and sounds of life. And handle them - a lot! Especially if you intend for them to be pet chickens and not just livestock. Lots of people have chickens that can't be caught, and that's normal because chickens are skittish by nature. However, I think it's important that you are able to catch and handle your chickens purely for safety reasons. The day will come when one of them will need help - to be rescued out of somewhere they got stuck, to be given medicine, to be quarantined, etc. You need to be able to handle them to take care of them, and it's SO much easier if they are calm and socialized and not fighting you. Easier for you, easier for them. So start working on them now while they are still young, and be persistent.

My chicks from last year were brooded inside the house, next to my young kids' bedroom. Those chicks have seen and heard some sh** Screaming and tantrums, loud toys, rough little hands grabbing them (being careful, but still, only managing preschool-level careful). The vacuum cleaner! When they went outside, I hadn't finished building their run yet. So I built it around them with all kinds of power tools, including a circular saw. The kids had hardened them to sound so much that they were completely unfazed by the construction! In fact, I had to keep them away from the drill because they wanted to peck at the spinning bit I could mow around them and they wouldn't care, they'd just wait for the grass clippings to eat. They are 1+ year old now and nothing bothers them. I can pick them up and do whatever I want. They let my kids pick them up and snuggle them. One just finished raising chicks - I could reach under her and take eggs out, later take the chicks, and she let me do whatever (broody hens often turn very protective and mean and attack anybody who dares come close, let alone touch). So trust is also very important and pays off, as a product of extensive socialization. It makes everything smoother and easier. So get the vacuum out and go snuggle those chicks!

I want what you have! Lol this sounds like the adventure we are about to embark on. Preschooler, toddler in the house. Vacuum and mower should be the least of the stressors (kidding but actually). Your anecdote gives me hope our chickens might love us back lol

 

[Sally PB]

BYC is fantastic for so many reasons, but one of them is because of threads like this!

We were all new (some of us still consider ourselves to be new, even one year in!), and BYC has helped me more than any other resource.

 

[K0k0shka]

I want what you have! Lol this sounds like the adventure we are about to embark on. Preschooler, toddler in the house. Vacuum and mower should be the least of the stressors (kidding but actually). Your anecdote gives me hope our chickens might love us back lol

Absolutely! Handle the crap out of them from the very beginning and they'll love you (even the kids!)