flying

[Darryl508]

Hello all . i have 4 2 week old chicks they are 2 cochin and 2 light brahma .. They are flying all over the place i didn't think they could fly yet i hate to have to clip there wings already .... anything else i could do ?

 

[gapeach717]

mine are lunatics too! at 11 days old they are all over the place in their crate!

 

[LILCHIKBIGCHIK]

Thats funny. My 6 day old BA's and my BR are trying to fly all over there brooder when I go to change there water.

 

[aoxa]

My two week old chicks can fly to the edge of their playpen now if they want to. They are testing their skills I guess

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Is your brooder covered? If not, then I'd just build a cover for it.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Yeah, mine are two week old and are flying higher than I thought they would. I'd add some sort of cover (like a screen) and let them fly. It's good exercise for them at this point and it's hilarious to watch them dive bomb each other! They are starting to work out a pecking order and I think it's who ever can fly the highest at this point - it's a game of fun for them! I know my breeds will be heavy birds that won't necessarily fly so I'm not too worried about them doing it right now.

 

[felidaet]

Yes you need a cover on your brooder at a very early age. I cover mine right from the start.

 

[gryeyes]

Yes you need a cover on your brooder at a very early age. I cover mine right from the start.

Well, unless you are certifiably insane as am I.

I hatched quite a few chicks over the past two years, and never covered the brooder. I cheered the chicks on when they learned to fly! I have a special room for them - cleaning up chick poop is easy to do.

Oh, I lied - I have the current brooder covered because I have a new cat. When I am not in the room with the current chicks who have not yet learned to fly to the tall edge of the brooder bin, I put the cover on it because I don't want to test the cat with very small birds. She's no problem when I am around - totally ignores them. But who's to say she wouldn't go after them when I am at work all day?

I do not clip my chickens' wings, either. They range freely over the property (about two thirds of an acre, well fenced) and may need to fly to avoid predators.

 

[aggiemae]

Flying at two weeks?!?!?!? Looks like I have a lot to learn. I have a big plastic container for a brooder. Will this be big enough to accommodate six FLYING chicks for three, maybe four weeks? I planned to put the in a bigger pen or maybe out into the coop the first week of May with heater in the hen house since it's usually in the thug 60's low 70's by the end of April here and I though they they can going inside under the heat lamp if they want too.


Any thoughts on the amount of space the six young flying chicks fneed or how warm the day time temperture needs too be to keep them outside? Thanks for any advice. Meanwhile, I'll look around the threads for wing clipping instructions.

 

[gapeach717]

Um one of mine just flew out of my hand back to its buddies in the crate a minute ago (I was sitting on the floor right next to the open door of the crate) these guys are nuts!! And dive bombing is the PERFECT word for what they are doing to each other too! Omg! They are hilarious to watch!!!!