Colorado

[kaylaC6500]

This probably has been asked but wanted to get some advice from my Colorado experts. I was planning on moving my 6 week old chicks to the coop this weekend with a warming light for the night. They will be kept inside the coop for the first week while we finish the outside run.

We just looked at the weather and it is going to be another cold week. Low 40's and high 30's for the highs and into the 20's for the lows. Do you think I should wait a week or just pull the trigger? They are fully feathered out and getting very crowded in the brooder. Although we are not having any pecking issues (that I can see). My DH thinks we should wait a week with the weather forecast. ??

Funny, I am in the same situation. Chicks are 6 weeks, I have 4 hens, and I want to move them outside ASAP. They have been out in their run for a few hours each day but at night I bring them back in because we are not quite finished with the coop. This weekend I hope to have everything completed and I am ready to boot chicks out of th brooder. My DH thinks the same exact thing. Funny that the DH's are more like mother hens than us

I told him that chickens are more hardy than we give them credit for, plus they love it outside. In any case hoping to move them out there this week, keeping fingers crossed!

 

[jgurshtein]

Funny, I am in the same situation. Chicks are 6 weeks, I have 4 hens, and I want to move them outside ASAP. They have been out in their run for a few hours each day but at night I bring them back in because we are not quite finished with the coop. This weekend I hope to have everything completed and I am ready to boot chicks out of th brooder. My DH thinks the same exact thing. Funny that the DH's are more like mother hens than us

I told him that chickens are more hardy than we give them credit for, plus they love it outside. In any case hoping to move them out there this week, keeping fingers crossed!

 

[VtotheAL]

Today i evicted the babies from the basement into the coop with the big girls.  So far so good. i'm curious how they will all do in the am when they wait for the door to open....My maran was a little unsettled and unsure about the roost i provided. The others cuddled where they were placed. Im optimistic!

How'd they do?

 

[VtotheAL]

I have an escape artist!  If I have the brooder lid open Buffy jump/flies out.  She used to need to jump on the waterer, but tonight I was cleaning it out and came back into the room to find Buffy sitting on the edge of the box.... Then another one almost made it out, if her aim had been better she would have been successful! 

I need to get these girls out of my house!!  They are 4 and 5 weeks old and have many feathers.  But the coop/run is barely started!  All this moisture is really preventing me from getting the work done that needs doing. 

Both of my chicks are escape artists and they're not even both 3 weeks old yet! I have a metal mesh lid over the brooder, but the second I open it, they are both on the ledge or flying over it to the ground. I have a coop already, but it's too cold and they aren't fully feathered yet. I have no idea how I'll be able to keep them in there (and still happy) for 3 more weeks! :/

 

[Mtn Margie]

Yep, I have had a two week old perching on top of the rubbermaid..... I finally just put paper towels down in the poop zone, chick-proofed the area and got them outside ASAP. Oh, and I made a ladder for them to get back in just in case they hopped down, but they didn't do that in the first week of perching up there. Yes, it took me a week to get the space set up in the coop for them......

This am......
4 hatched, 1 zip, 5 pips day 22 ( Doing better this time around.)

 

[lovincolorado]

Funny, I am in the same situation. Chicks are 6 weeks, I have 4 hens, and I want to move them outside ASAP. They have been out in their run for a few hours each day but at night I bring them back in because we are not quite finished with the coop. This weekend I hope to have everything completed and I am ready to boot chicks out of th brooder. My DH thinks the same exact thing. Funny that the DH's are more like mother hens than us

I told him that chickens are more hardy than we give them credit for, plus they love it outside. In any case hoping to move them out there this week, keeping fingers crossed!

My DH always gives my girls treats...they do think he is their mother. so much for all the handling i did!!!

 

[lovincolorado]

How'd they do?

All cuddled in a cage i left for the silkies. The 5 hatchery chicks found their way in there too, although i had them peched on top of it when i put them to bed. Maybe they went in there this am...i got up late, and the big girls were anxious to get out this am. maybe they were harassing them, but they found safety. The silkies looked comfy despite sharing!!

 

[lovincolorado]

Speaking of DH, I need everyone to watched Animal Planets new show Ice Cold Gold. It airs Sunday the 21st, 8pm MST. He is on this show! There are 2 guys from colorado.

 

[kmatt87]

Why would a hen refuse to come off a roost? My yr old BO did not want to get off the roost today. Normally she's out by 6 or so and i just now took her off and put her outside. Her crop feels empty, but normal, no injuries that i can see, she has a soft ball size, squishy area in her abdomen....but she normally doesn't do her huge morning poo till she's out of the coop so I think that might be it... She also pecked at me when i reached toward her on the roost. She will normally only peck if you try to reach under her while she's in the nesting box. Any ideas? Things i should check? I've never dealt with a strange acting chicken before.


* I noticed a hard mass in the squish abdomen..since it feels egg shaped i'm guessing she has one stuck in there. So she's had a warm bath, some vaseline put in and around her vent, she's currently relaxing in some clean bedding in a storage tub in the house. I also gave her a little bit of leftover scrambled egg from breakfast with some crushed tums sprinkled on top and some tetracycline powder in her water just in case meds are needed.

Does that sound like a good start? I've never dealt with anything like this before.

 

[suncatcher]

Why would a hen refuse to come off a roost? My yr old BO did not want to get off the roost today. Normally she's out by 6 or so and i just now took her off and put her outside. Her crop feels empty, but normal, no injuries that i can see, she has a soft ball size, squishy area in her abdomen....but she normally doesn't do her huge morning poo till she's out of the coop so I think that might be it... She also pecked at me when i reached toward her on the roost. She will normally only peck if you try to reach under her while she's in the nesting box. Any ideas? Things i should check? I've never dealt with a strange acting chicken before.


* I noticed a hard mass in the squish abdomen..since it feels egg shaped i'm guessing she has one stuck in there. So she's had a warm bath, some vaseline put in and around her vent, she's currently relaxing in some clean bedding in a storage tub in the house. I also gave her a little bit of leftover scrambled egg from breakfast with some crushed tums sprinkled on top and some tetracycline powder in her water just in case meds are needed.

Does that sound like a good start? I've never dealt with anything like this before.

Everything I could find on egg boundd hens says give a warm bath, so I think you did the right thing. Here are some links, hope they help. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/649595/egg-bound/20

http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms.html