Hello from San Diego, CA!

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FosterFlock

FosterFlock

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Hi Everyone,
After several trips to the children's museum where the kiddos refused to leave the chicken pen we decided to set up our own chicken coop. We were going to start small, but, well, one thing let to another and we now have 8 chickens! We are foster parents and our boys are very proud of their new responsibilities: our 5 year old feeds them, the 3 year old hands out the mealworms and our 14 year old is in charge of eggs. So far a huge success on all fronts! Is it ok for the kids to handle/pet the birds a lot as long as they are gentle? Any advice on hanging feeders vs on ground ones? We don't want to encourage rodents or other 'visitors'.
Thanks!
 
Welcome to BYC, so great that the kids are involved and happy with the chickens. Yes, it's alright for them to handle the chicks, if they are very gentle and sit on the floor with them. Chicks make erratic movements & are very fast. They tend to fall from heights and don't land well. I would advise that the younger ones wear goggles, chicks/ chickens explore things with their beaks. They are attracted to shiny things, jewelry, eye balls etc. Goggles or glasses could protect their vision.
 



I was going to add, wash hands, wash hands, wash hands. :)

You can try to hang food if you want, but those rodents..can climb! I had to catch a few this spring. I think I got them all. :D
Glad that everyone is having fun with them. They become good friends. :)
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children. My granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loves our chickens. As long as your children handle them gently so they do not injure them, handling them will be an excellent way to tame them. My children and granddaughter made lap pets of many of our chickens. The only way to keep rodents such as rats and mice out of your chickens' feed is to keep them in a rodent proof coop/run using hardware cloth rather than chicken wire or other large mesh wire. Even mice cannot pass through the openings in the hardware cloth. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 

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