cityeggs
Songster
I have a mini-flock of 3 hens and 2x5w old chicks. The chicks were inside for the first 2 weeks, then have been out for all but an hour or so of the day in the run inside a 2'x3' dog crate for a "look don't touch" for almost 3 weeks now (still sleeping inside, since I don't have electricity in the coop.
1. They look pretty much fully feathered, though still have some down under their wings - does that count? Are they ready to sleep outside? If so, it seems like I should lock them in the dog crate portion at night for another week or so until integration has gone a little better - is that what you'd advise? And if so, suggestions on how to easily make a make-shift shelter for them? I had a small box in the corner with a roosting bar inside, but the top of the box got gross despite daily scraping (since they spent most of their time on top of the box as far as I could tell), so I tossed it and am hesitant to put another one in there unless it's just for a short period of time.
A handful of times, I've closed the secure run door to keep the hens out and let the chicks explore the coop & run and stretch their legs. Since it's been about 3w of the look don't touch, and the parading and scaring the chicks seemed to have decreased, I decided to try the actual mingling step - I made a little panic door for them, taught them where it was first and then opened the doors. The first time, it went about as well as expected - there was chasing, but the chicks were able to get away - once to roost on the run frame, and another time, they managed to use their panic door to get back into the dog crate. Since they seemed to be ok, I did this again the next day, stayed close by for a bit and left them alone but within earshot. After about an hour, one of the chicks got brave and decided to explore the fenced "free-range" area - and immediately was chased by all 3 hens, cornered and tried to escape through a cattle panel and froze/got stuck, so was a sitting target for feather pulling/pecking by the whole gang. We were there quickly, and got the chick out, scared off the hens and called it quits for integration that day. I hadn't thought they'd run into the open space (having read that most chicks stay in the coop for a few weeks). Lesson learned - I need to put up hardware cloth over the bottom part of the cattle panel portion of the fence, and put up even more clutter in the run to give more shelter. Mostly the stuff is in the corners right now so as not to block the human walking paths, but I guess I need to put more in the center.
2. Is there more I can do to protect the chicks? Or do I just try this for an hour or so every day, stay close by and intervene if the chicks get caught? They are getting too big to hang out just in the 2x3 dog crate, but it doesn't seem safe to open the doors and let the hens at them. I can't lock the hens out of the coop for long periods of time - they can't get to the nest boxes - until they've done laying for the day (which is hard to tell since 2/3 of them don't lay every day - and I never know what kind of day it will be). I do have a chicken wire hoop house (10'x4'x3.5'h) that I can probably fit in the fenced area during the day - should I try that for day time? And if so, do I need to wrap the lower edge with hardware cloth?
Here are recent photos - I've since put a few stumps in the fenced area, one in the run, taken the box out of the dog crate and put the box upside down in the corner of the run, and put a waterproof picnic blanket over the corner of the dog crate where the box was - I will take more photos today and post them here to update.
1. They look pretty much fully feathered, though still have some down under their wings - does that count? Are they ready to sleep outside? If so, it seems like I should lock them in the dog crate portion at night for another week or so until integration has gone a little better - is that what you'd advise? And if so, suggestions on how to easily make a make-shift shelter for them? I had a small box in the corner with a roosting bar inside, but the top of the box got gross despite daily scraping (since they spent most of their time on top of the box as far as I could tell), so I tossed it and am hesitant to put another one in there unless it's just for a short period of time.
A handful of times, I've closed the secure run door to keep the hens out and let the chicks explore the coop & run and stretch their legs. Since it's been about 3w of the look don't touch, and the parading and scaring the chicks seemed to have decreased, I decided to try the actual mingling step - I made a little panic door for them, taught them where it was first and then opened the doors. The first time, it went about as well as expected - there was chasing, but the chicks were able to get away - once to roost on the run frame, and another time, they managed to use their panic door to get back into the dog crate. Since they seemed to be ok, I did this again the next day, stayed close by for a bit and left them alone but within earshot. After about an hour, one of the chicks got brave and decided to explore the fenced "free-range" area - and immediately was chased by all 3 hens, cornered and tried to escape through a cattle panel and froze/got stuck, so was a sitting target for feather pulling/pecking by the whole gang. We were there quickly, and got the chick out, scared off the hens and called it quits for integration that day. I hadn't thought they'd run into the open space (having read that most chicks stay in the coop for a few weeks). Lesson learned - I need to put up hardware cloth over the bottom part of the cattle panel portion of the fence, and put up even more clutter in the run to give more shelter. Mostly the stuff is in the corners right now so as not to block the human walking paths, but I guess I need to put more in the center.
2. Is there more I can do to protect the chicks? Or do I just try this for an hour or so every day, stay close by and intervene if the chicks get caught? They are getting too big to hang out just in the 2x3 dog crate, but it doesn't seem safe to open the doors and let the hens at them. I can't lock the hens out of the coop for long periods of time - they can't get to the nest boxes - until they've done laying for the day (which is hard to tell since 2/3 of them don't lay every day - and I never know what kind of day it will be). I do have a chicken wire hoop house (10'x4'x3.5'h) that I can probably fit in the fenced area during the day - should I try that for day time? And if so, do I need to wrap the lower edge with hardware cloth?
Here are recent photos - I've since put a few stumps in the fenced area, one in the run, taken the box out of the dog crate and put the box upside down in the corner of the run, and put a waterproof picnic blanket over the corner of the dog crate where the box was - I will take more photos today and post them here to update.
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On the other hand, the Wyandotte hopped right up on a bunch of things right away - does that mean the high places are too low for the chicks to escape to? My Australorp is the only one who gets up on the blue barrel, even though I'm pretty sure they all could (we think RSL flew over the floppy part of the gate a few months back).
I feel like having more space would also help, but I don't see how to do that right now.
). I got him down and put him back in the crate, but realized that the other chick was missing. I saw piles of feathers, but no chick. Eventually, I found her hiding behind a box in the coop. She might have even gotten under it - I had flipped it over so they couldn't get trapped, but the ground is pretty uneven - the hens are constantly digging new holes, so I think there was a little tunnel up under. Anyway, I managed to coax her into the crate too. I think the little cockerel had gone looking for her and gotten in further than he could manage. Both chicks have bites on their faces, and had a bunch of feathers pulled, so I locked the door for now.
