It's going to be a crazy chicken day.

[LoneCowboy]

My DH wakes me up this morning saying the Meat Birds are rattleing their cage. I go in and get their feed for them, and one of them gets trampled to death in the morning feeding frenzy. I just feel horrible. I've divided up the chickens so there are half as many per brooder too.

Then I go out to let the layers out. I hear this awful crazy bawking going on. I think "Oh, somebody layed an egg" Nope, I have some younger chickens in an attached coop with a window between them. One of the younger BO's is having a Bawking contest with the big girls in the other coop. What a bunch of weirdos. But it's pretty funny to watch that little 13 week old BO bawk her little lungs out.

I can tell it's going to be a crazy chicken day.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

LOL. Did you DH wake you up so you could go feed the birds?

-Kim

 

[LoneCowboy]

Oh today was worst than yesterday. I was trying to put the troughs on the sides of the commercial brooders I'm using, this morning and there are grates to keep the birds in and give them access to the feed. Well, they kept jumping out of the brooder to get to the food while I was trying to get them in place. There were fat little meat birds all over the floor in the back room. I think I will put one in with them in the future till I get the others in place. What a mess!

 

[Tutter]

LoneCowboy, you were there, and you probably know exactly what happened, but I just want to throw out another thought on the chick that was trampled.

How's the temperature in with the chicks? Is it maintaining what you want it to? Are the chicks hanging around the edges, or in a group towards the middle?

Sometimes chicks get piled upon when other chicks try to go off either to the edge, or under the light. The others literally get on top of him/her. It could be a death mistaken for trampling.

It was just a thought which came to me as I read. I hope your day has improved a lot!

 

[wynedot55]

i bet that was funny to hear the pullet girls in a bawking contest with the big girls.

 

[LoneCowboy]

They are meat birds, so they have a total feeding frenzy in the morning. The temp is good, but thanks for thinking of me.

Today got even funnier. I got everybody back in the brooders and got them their food and I left the room. About 30 mins later I keep hearing loud distressful squawks from the back room. I go in to see what the problem is, thinking I'll find somebodies foot caught in the feeder or something dumb. Well there is this poor little guy who didn't get caught this morning, running around the room, trying to figure out how to get back up into the brooders. Very funny. I've got to get this little ones out in the chicken tractor while most of us are still alive