Jubilee Chicken Flock Updates and Photos.

[Shallon]

How exactly do you give garlic? How much?

 

[Farmer Viola]

I have a kitchen device that's similar to a slap chop but it's oxo brand from bed bath and beyond. it is the best thing ever for mincing garlic!!! also I don't peel the cloves, takes way too long. I give it 3-4 slaps and the cloves are cut large, the peels come loose, and I separate the peels to the trash. if some peels stay in, they can eat them, who cares. then 10-20 slaps until it's minced really fine.

I hold it out for them like treats in my hand and they eat it, and I dump the rest in their feeder. when I do rounds of garlic, I do it for 3-5 days in a row, and I do 1 whole head per day (it's maybe 10 or 12 cloves?). I have 7 big chickens and 16 chicks and that's just how much I use!

 

[Shallon]

And Florence is now laying! She laid one yesterday and one today! I'm so proud of her.
I've been building the brooder in the coop. Almost done, need to get some screws in.
After that, the only project left is the roost. Then the coop is completely finished unless I find some scrap vinyl flooring. Or get the hankering to paint the thing.
My silkie hens can't figure out how to use the ramp! It's getting old. I have to catch them and lift them up to get into the coop. I am very hesitant to let them range for too long because of this. I'm afraid they'll get stuck outside the coop and get thirsty. Is my ramp too steep or are silkies just stupid?


So now I'm thinking I need an outside waterer as well. Yeesh.

 

[ChickenPeep]

Your flock is so cute! I love that picture of the bunny and the chicks. Too cute!

 

[Shallon]

Thank you!

 

[Shallon]

OK, I got the brooder combo finished! Except It still needs a roof type object.

The bigger chicks on the right were ruining my socialization with the younger chicks, and they were a great deal bigger than them so they kept on stepping on heads and such. So they get their own section now.


I made a mistake by only having chicken wire between them. The chicks freaked out during the move, then in their own sections, the younger chicks got frantic at seeing the big chicks and tried to work through the chicken wire. So I blocked it off with cardboard and all is well now.
Lots of room!

Some chick shots:

My Dominiques, Barred Rocks, and Cuckoo Marans all look very similar, and there's seven of them total. This is one of them! The Dominiques do have a ridge on their heads, but I can only see it when I look extra close at this point.

The little yellow chicks were having a blast RUNNING and FLAPPING across the big brooder. They were getting some air!

Chick rainbow wheel!

 

[Shallon]

The older chickens don't know what to make of the newbies in the coop. Hank the roo keeps going over and crowing in their faces.

 

[Farmer Viola]

nice! that looks great! good idea allowing them to see each other through the wire, too.

I've combined chicks up to 4 weeks apart with little trouble, but the big hens need some more time to get used to the idea. right now my main coop/run is split in half, i'm giving the 7 week olds 2wks introduction time living in the split run before I combine with the big girls & boys. hopefully the rooster will see them as part of the flock by then, and want to protect them

 

[Shallon]

Yes, same idea!
After I integrate the older chicks, I can remove the wire separating the two brooder parts and give the little chicks more space and let them see the rest of the flock. Then after they integrate I'll keep that as a closed off area in case I need one for the future for broody hens or whatnot.