My first hatch of 14 chicks will be 6 weeks old next week. I plan on introducing them to their parents soon. But I'm not sure exactly how to go about it.
Right now, they are in my garage, 7 in the brooder cage and 7 in the large dog crate. I divided them this weekend because it looked a bit croweded. I haven't used the brooder lamp for about 2 weeks now. They are growing like WEEDS! What little hatching down is left should be gone in the next few days to a week.
I want to move them to the chicken run in the next week or so, but both the brooder cage and the dog crate are too big to fit through coop door. I think they will be fine outside in the run confined to the cages during the day, but I really don't want to "lugg" the two cages back and forth on a daily baises. If I cover half of the cages with a tarp to give them wind/rain protection and to give them some shade during the day, and cover them entirely at night, will this be sufficent? Will the chicks and the adults get the necessary introduction exposure this way? How long should I keep the chicks confined during the introduction process?
Right now, they are in my garage, 7 in the brooder cage and 7 in the large dog crate. I divided them this weekend because it looked a bit croweded. I haven't used the brooder lamp for about 2 weeks now. They are growing like WEEDS! What little hatching down is left should be gone in the next few days to a week.
I want to move them to the chicken run in the next week or so, but both the brooder cage and the dog crate are too big to fit through coop door. I think they will be fine outside in the run confined to the cages during the day, but I really don't want to "lugg" the two cages back and forth on a daily baises. If I cover half of the cages with a tarp to give them wind/rain protection and to give them some shade during the day, and cover them entirely at night, will this be sufficent? Will the chicks and the adults get the necessary introduction exposure this way? How long should I keep the chicks confined during the introduction process?
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