Roos and Hens
In the Brooder
Good Morning, All!
We finally did it! We moved out of our town and onto a 6.25 acre "spread". I know, I know. It's not a huge amount of land and all you ranchers are laughing at my excitement. But it's ours and we can do all the things we talked about doing without nosy neighbors watching us over the fence. hahaha!
First thing we did was acquire two large breed puppies bringing our pack to 4. 9 yo Corgi (42#) rules the roost. 14 yo lab mix (80#) and now 9 mo Irish Wolfhound (90#) siblings. Our pack is sweet and well behaved. The next acquisition was 27 baby chicks from the hatchery. females: 3 barred rocks; 24 Rhode Island Reds and one Buff Braham roo. Unfortunately two of the Rhode Island Reds didn't make it past the first week. We realized too late that the brooder was too warm. Since we got the temperature right, everyone has been healthy and happy. Our chickens are currently 10 weeks old and I believe that at least one of our RIR is not a her. We know they should be in the coop already but it has been too cold for them and too cold for us to go out and work on the chicken run. Our goal is to have them out there by the end of January. We have designed a covered run that will offer shade within a much larger uncovered run.
I almost forgot. We chose to have a rooster because we live in rural Southern New Mexico by a mountain range. Daily sightings: birds of prey, pack rats, "discarded" dogs and cats, and coyote. Often sighted: snakes and bob cats. Rarely sighted: deer and oryx. Never sighted but we know they are there: Mountain Lions We know he can't fight them off but we are hoping he will call out a warning and get the girls back in the coop.
We finally did it! We moved out of our town and onto a 6.25 acre "spread". I know, I know. It's not a huge amount of land and all you ranchers are laughing at my excitement. But it's ours and we can do all the things we talked about doing without nosy neighbors watching us over the fence. hahaha!
First thing we did was acquire two large breed puppies bringing our pack to 4. 9 yo Corgi (42#) rules the roost. 14 yo lab mix (80#) and now 9 mo Irish Wolfhound (90#) siblings. Our pack is sweet and well behaved. The next acquisition was 27 baby chicks from the hatchery. females: 3 barred rocks; 24 Rhode Island Reds and one Buff Braham roo. Unfortunately two of the Rhode Island Reds didn't make it past the first week. We realized too late that the brooder was too warm. Since we got the temperature right, everyone has been healthy and happy. Our chickens are currently 10 weeks old and I believe that at least one of our RIR is not a her. We know they should be in the coop already but it has been too cold for them and too cold for us to go out and work on the chicken run. Our goal is to have them out there by the end of January. We have designed a covered run that will offer shade within a much larger uncovered run.
I almost forgot. We chose to have a rooster because we live in rural Southern New Mexico by a mountain range. Daily sightings: birds of prey, pack rats, "discarded" dogs and cats, and coyote. Often sighted: snakes and bob cats. Rarely sighted: deer and oryx. Never sighted but we know they are there: Mountain Lions We know he can't fight them off but we are hoping he will call out a warning and get the girls back in the coop.
Thanks for sharing!
Welcome to the site.
