@Blooie ! "Teach themselves how to be chickens"....that is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this chicken journey, that even without a Mama, if provided the right conditions, they just go for it..this morning I found two of them practicing perching on their roost, for which they got many praises and some carrot trimmings!It was SO cute...they are teaching me new things every day, I mean it, there is something new like that!
That is what I found with my 12 June 2012 girls. They had no mentors and just had to figure it out. They naturally scratch at the ground, they naturally dust bath, they naturally eat pretty much any bug (don't like wooly bear caterpillars) and some of them naturally try to hatch pine shavings
Paying my dues22 total, some are under mama. Have one that likes to peck toes, even pulls at them, one little gal was screaming
Ugh.
Time to change your signature. Besides the count, I see a WHOLE lot of EE chicks in with that one BO.
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So true. I worried about the 2012 chicks. I let Zorra worry about the 2015 chicks. She did a much better job raising chicks than I did.
Um, until you are dead ... and maybe even then when you have a "bird's eye view"
@bruceha2000 Yes, there is lots of ventilation. Two huge windows in the front (with both screen and hardware cloth), as well as a vent all along the top, back wall and a louvered fan for the really bad days, My husband wanted the big waterer and feeder. I tried to convince him they didn't need it, but you know men...bigger is better.I'll have to see about putting the feeder and water up a little bit off the shavings. Do you think bricks would do the trick? I do have marbles weighing them down.
@KDOGG331 Thanks! We love the coop too. We actually ordered it from a Mennonite company up in Georgia and they built and delivered it to us. It's 5x8 with 8 nesting boxes and great ventilation. Being in Florida, that was a huge concern for us and with what they charged, we couldn't have built it for that (nor would it have looked nearly as nice). speciall
The bigger waterer is really meant for the coop when they are adults. You can still use it, especially since you have a good size space. It is just that the smaller ones are easier to deal with when the chicks are small. You can use bricks or a paver stone. For a while they will need it to stick out under the edge of the waterer or they won't be able to reach that high.
Out of curiosity, how many chickens did they say you can put in that 40 sq ft coop?
ABSOLUTE minimum is 2 sq ft of floor space (that is USABLE floor space, not space before the food and water and whatever is put in) and only if the birds are pretty much never in there except at night. Near as I can tell the 5' dimension includes the external nest boxes so they don't count. 4x8 = 32 sq ft = 16 birds ASSUMING there is 18" above every square inch of that floor. Not real practical if you have food and water in the coop.
15 in there is going to be a real squeeze.
Private Bruce reporting for duty MA'AM! (a bit late I guess, sorry, I was cleaning the mess hall floor with a toothbrush per your orders)
My 2012 chicks were like that the first year. Never went anywhere without the rest other than to a nest box. Then they got more brave (or stupid?) and would be all over the place sometimes in groups sometimes alone. Good way to become fox food.
The 2015 chicks stuck together like glue after Zorra kicked them to the curb at 2 months but by the time they were 5 or so months old could be found pretty much anywhere in smaller groups and now with any of the older girls. But I did find Yuki out in the front yard near the road yesterday when all the other girls were out back. Makes me nervous!!
Can't wait to get pics of the littles when they arrive. @
But, my mom might not be as pleased 
