When my dozen chicks from Ideal were a week old a snake got into the brooder and at 5 of them. I didn't kill the snake because rat snakes are too valuable keeping vermin down.
I'd *thought* I'd located the tiny hole where the snake had gotten in and blocked it up. But when I went out tonight to turn the brooder plate back on -- because I'd had it off while the nights were in the upper 70's but tonight was going to be cooler -- I discovered that I was missing 2 more chicks.
Out of 12, only 5 survivors -- 2 SLW's, and 3 white ones who are still indeterminately either 2 Delaware and 1 California White or vice versa.
I lost all the Brahmas.
My babies may be a little chilly tonight because I have no way to run electric to the coop, but they're safe out of the brooder and into the integration pen a week early.
Since I have eggs in the incubator I'm going to have to spend the next 2 weeks going over every inch of the brooder to find the vulnerable spot and dig around the exterior to see if there's a burrow leading in (unlikely because the brooder is sitting on a place where the previous owner had installed a packed gravel pad that we can barely get through with a pick -- but I'll check it anyway).
I'd *thought* I'd located the tiny hole where the snake had gotten in and blocked it up. But when I went out tonight to turn the brooder plate back on -- because I'd had it off while the nights were in the upper 70's but tonight was going to be cooler -- I discovered that I was missing 2 more chicks.
Out of 12, only 5 survivors -- 2 SLW's, and 3 white ones who are still indeterminately either 2 Delaware and 1 California White or vice versa.
I lost all the Brahmas.
My babies may be a little chilly tonight because I have no way to run electric to the coop, but they're safe out of the brooder and into the integration pen a week early.
Since I have eggs in the incubator I'm going to have to spend the next 2 weeks going over every inch of the brooder to find the vulnerable spot and dig around the exterior to see if there's a burrow leading in (unlikely because the brooder is sitting on a place where the previous owner had installed a packed gravel pad that we can barely get through with a pick -- but I'll check it anyway).
