Wow, Cluck Acres, Re: Growing grass... My husband and I have been discussing what to do about the fenced in part of our yard where the chickens free range. Thanks to the chickens' gardening skills, our yard consists of brown dirt instead of green grass. (I keep blaming it on last summer's drought!) We have a small chicken tractor that my son built last summer from pvc pipe when the chickens were young, so my husband planted grass seed and covered the area with the tractor. After the grass grew in, he moved the tractor to start the next area, and suddenly the new grass had disappeared! Hmmm. The design on the link you provided prevents the chickens from yanking the grass out by its roots. Thank you!
To critterwhisper, Re: moving your little ones outside to the coop. I suppose it depends on how many you have to keep each other warm, what temp they have been used to--probably 65 degrees by 6 weeks of age, and what the outdoor temps are. When we went through the same situation last year, and even though ours were used to going outside on nice days in the tractor, when they moved to the coop we provided a heat bulb until they became acclimated. (I have read that chickens in general shouldn't undergo big temperature changes-- like bringing them in your warm house when it's snowing, and then putting them out in the snow later--like you'd do with a cat or dog). So, I'd say that young ones should have a heat source available, and you can monitor their behavior and needs until the weather temps even out since they have been fluctuating so drastically. You might Google your question to read other opinions if you don't hear from any BYCers (all the BYCers are SO busy taking care of their baby chicks and I am jealous!) The pictures that bradselig posted are adorable!
