MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Looks delicious!

 

[MaryJanet]

I do just that to keep them in the coop and porch for a week. I wall off the end of the porch and put a small ramp from the coop to the porch. The porch wall is high enough to keep the chicks in and short enough to allow the big ladies access in and out.

Why do you keep chicks within the coop and porch for a week Bob? Are you worried about them navigating the ramp?

 

[ManueB]

Why do you keep chicks within the coop and porch for a week Bob? Are you worried about them navigating the ramp?

From what I remember we all had varied experiences of chicks with ramps, some seem to learn very quickly and for others it takes several days.
The chicks are so light, they never seem to hurt themselves falling.
However they do panic when away from mum and their initial instinct is always to take the shorter path. They will try to make a direct jump, understanding a ramp where you have to go away from the place you want to reach to help you go up needs help and a lot of patience from their mum. Especially when there are more than one. If she goes down the ramp to help a chick that doesn't understand, the others that have made it up the ramp will go down as well .

 

[MaryJanet]

From what I remember we all had varied experiences of chicks with ramps, some seem to learn very quickly and for others it takes several days.
The chicks are so light, they never seem to hurt themselves falling.
However they do panic when away from mum and their initial instinct is always to take the shorter path. They will try to make a direct jump, understanding a ramp where you have to go away from the place you want to reach to help you go up needs help and a lot of patience from their mum. Especially when there are more than one. If she goes down the ramp to help a chick that doesn't understand, the others that have made it up the ramp will go down as well .

So if I put a sheet of ply or cardboard alongside the ramp, would it help?

 

[ManueB]

So if I put a sheet of ply or cardboard alongside the ramp, would it help?

I personally think it could go both ways. It would help to keep them in for a few days if that is what you want, but if for some reason Mary or one chick managed to go across then it will backfire and make quite a panic .
If you're home you'll quickly find out about what sound a panicked chick make and find yourself running to see them twenty times a day !

I only saw two hatches. Maybe folks with more experience will have a different opinion. Chipie, my first broodie, wanted the chicks out and about 48h after they were born, Léa kept them inside for 8 days.

 

[BDutch]

I loved having cameras on them for that reason. I could watch them all day while at work.

How effective did you do your work?

 

[BDutch]

So far today, she has remained away from the ramp. I'll check her position every morning and night from now on and I'll enclose her and the eggs if she resumes sitting at the top of the ramp.

However, I imagine the ramp might be a risk for a chick, so I'll put a little fence across the doorway once they're in lockdown and take it away once Mary's ready to take them outside.

I make a barrier for the newly hatched every hatch, because I don’t wont them to go downstairs before the are old enough to follow mamma. When they come down (after 4-5 days) I like to be around to see if they can find their way up again when its time to sleep.
During the day they take naps on the ground floor under mamas wings.

Bc the standard ramp is rather steep, and difficult to return to the nest-box , I added a temporary broader and less steep ramp

@BY Bob
We all do things differently but this looks almost the same as what I do.
Do you have a photo. If I understand I might try your style next time too.

 

[BDutch]

It wasn't as far as the eggs were, there wasn't as much traffic, and it was expressways and highways the whole way

How far? Taking highways sounds quite far.
Do you need to make such a trip for all your chicken supplies?

Sometimes I feel so lucky to have everything so near here where i live. Most things are just 1 - 1.5 km away.
Only the factory for the affordable organic feed is 15 km. It’s not meant for small BYC keepers and you have to buy 5 bags (100 kg). Therefore it needs a little planning. But a neighbour who buys the feed there can combine it with her work and always brings 1 or 2 bags for me if I ask her. Plenty of choice to buy hatching eggs too within 15 km.

Unfortunately having everything close also means I have a very small garden compared to most BYC keepers. Only about ⅛ of an acre. 400 m2 of my own + 200m2 municipality wilderness. For Dutch standards this is a luxery. Our first house (rental) had s garden under 50m2 which is common in any town in the Netherlands.

 

[BDutch]

Just in case anyone wants to read the label.

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I see it contains no corn and the sojabeans are without labelling it for GMO. Does that mean it’s GMO free?

In Europe its obliged to mention it if GMO (poisoned) grains/beans are being used. All not organic chicken/chick feed here contains GMO soy and corn.

They also have to put the ingredients in the right sequence (from most to little).

I wonder how much these things are the same/ different in Australia.

 

[MaryJanet]

How far? Taking highways sounds quite far.

It was only a 40 minute drive.

Do you need to make such a trip for all your chicken supplies?

No, but I wanted to make sure the crumble was fresh and I wanted to see the mill. And it was a marvellous day.

Sometimes I feel so lucky to have everything so near here where i live. Most things are just 1 - 1.5 km away.
Only the factory for the affordable organic feed is 15 km. It’s not meant for small BYC keepers and you have to buy 5 bags (100 kg). Therefore it needs a little planning. But a neighbour who buys the feed there can combine it with her work and always brings 1 or 2 bags for me if I ask her. Plenty of choice to buy hatching eggs too within 15 km.

Australia is quite a large place and we don't think much of an hour or two in the car for special errands.

The drive to work is 15 minutes and mostly on the expressway.

Unfortunately having everything close also means I have a very small garden compared to most BYC keepers. Only about ⅛ of an acre. 400 m2 of my own + 200m2 municipality wilderness. For Dutch standards this is a luxery. Our first house (rental) had s garden under 50m2 which is common in any town in the Netherlands.

My previous house was a flat and it had a shared garden.

I'm not exactly sure of the dimensions or area of this house and garden, but it feels big to me.