Just joined the forums after lurking for months. I have so appreciated the collective knowledge available here as we start our backyard chicken journey. Coop is (mostly) finished, with ideas/suggestions from the forums, including several things we would not have thought about had we not been reading. And we took the plunge on Friday - 3 new babies are living in a guinea pig cage brooder in my older daughter's bedroom. They are adorable balls of fluff who are getting plenty of handling, thanks to 3 kids who think they are wonderful. 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Rhode Island Red (who is already Miss Bossy). We will be adding 3 more (Ameraucanas and Silver Laced Wyandottes) at the end of the week.
We are experienced pet owners, since both adults have worked in veterinary medicine since high school, but this is our first foray into birds so we are learning a lot every day. Our two dogs have been decidedly uninterested in the babies, but will still stay separated unless leashed since I just can't quite trust them (both sighthounds). Littlest child (see profile pict) left the brooder room door open yesterday and the kitten was IN the brooder pen. Luckily, I heard distressed chick peeps before anything happened, and based on the kitten's various visits into the guinea pig cage I think he just wanted to play, but kitten play could be deadly! Even our older cat was acting interested. But the cats don't go outside so in 2 months we'll be able to stop worrying about cats and babies! We homeschool our big kids and I'm already turning this into a science experiment (we're weighing the babies every day).
We're having a blast and are happy to be new chicken parents!
We are experienced pet owners, since both adults have worked in veterinary medicine since high school, but this is our first foray into birds so we are learning a lot every day. Our two dogs have been decidedly uninterested in the babies, but will still stay separated unless leashed since I just can't quite trust them (both sighthounds). Littlest child (see profile pict) left the brooder room door open yesterday and the kitten was IN the brooder pen. Luckily, I heard distressed chick peeps before anything happened, and based on the kitten's various visits into the guinea pig cage I think he just wanted to play, but kitten play could be deadly! Even our older cat was acting interested. But the cats don't go outside so in 2 months we'll be able to stop worrying about cats and babies! We homeschool our big kids and I'm already turning this into a science experiment (we're weighing the babies every day).
We're having a blast and are happy to be new chicken parents!
