Moving in day at the Chicken McMansion

[ChixMama]

You've done a fantastic job with your coop! Thank you so much for sharing your design ideas that are very inspiring for those of us in the building process. Awesome!!!!

 

[Chieftain]

My pleasure CM. I got the ideas here at BYC and that's who I thank for helping me on this.

When I got up this morning at 4, the outside air temp was 34 degrees, and the air temp in the coop per the remote was 57. That's above the level of the litter, and about 18" away from the hottest part of the light circle in the litter, but it is still a 23 degree difference, and that's what I was looking for. Increasing the wattage on the bulb was all it took to make the difference.

I went right out and peeked in the window, and the three smallest chicks were nestled together, but not huddling, in the center of the light ring, and the two biggest were up eating. I checked them a little while ago and they are all up and eating. Everyone seems to have come through the night with flying colors, and I'll give things a closer look later when the sun is up and it warms up a bit.

I love it when a plan comes together!

 

[Chieftain]

It's 8 O'Clock PM here on the Left Coast, I just did my chook check, and everyone is just fine. They are not huddled, but are snuggled into the litter in the same arc of the light ring on the litter from the heat lamp. The air temp is starting to drop off a bit, but the temperature at the surface of the litter is constant, and the chooks are taking full advantage of the heat.

Right now they are eating about a quart mason jar of chick rations roughly every 24 hours between the five of them. That seems pretty reasonable given their body sizes, and according to Storey's Guide, by the time they are 10 weeks old, they should have plowed though roughly 10 pounds of feed each. We'll see how long that 50 pound back of chick feed lasts.

Now that everyone is getting older I am wondering about introducing grit inside the coop. Should I toss a handful of sand in there for them to scratch around for, or do I need to put a dispenser of some sort in there for grit?? My run is made of sand, and my intention was to use that as opposed to buying a bag of granite grit at the feed store. They sell it, but like with the DE, a bag is enough to last several flocks, and they sure aren't giving anything away these days....

I hit the pet store frequently for dog, cat and ferret food, and they have a pretty extensive selection of products and supplies for all kinds of critters. According to Storey's Guide, mealworms are one of the number one treats among chooks, and I was wondering how soon I can safely introduce a treat like that, and is grit necessary for the chooks to digest that type of protein? How about red worms out of the compost pile? I helped one of my sons grow mealworms for his lizard once, and I figured I would put a container of them out in my shop so I have a ready source of chook treats this year. I can get 100 or them to start with and go from there, I'm just not sure at what age the chooks are ready for that kind of treat.

One of my wife's friends who got us started on chooks told her today that he was out rattling around in the shed next to his run last weekend, and scared up a field mouse, who made the very unwise choice to try and dodge through the chicken run to escape. He said his chooks were on that mouse so quick all he saw was flying feathers and half a dozen chicken butts straight up in the air. When his girls finally scattered, there was no trace left of that mouse.....

That's a better mouser rate than our cat has been capable of for quite some time now....the chooks are certainly faster than our cat is...

Everything continues to be smooth.

 

[Armageddon]

Greeeaaat Pics!!! I gotta get the Storey's guide....

 

[aimeeinwv]

awesome and inspiring pics. We're going to have to make one of those waterer bases today! Love the babies!!!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Yeah, I like that water stand idea too.

 

[Chieftain]

Quick update...everything continues to be nominal here. The chooks are healthy and happy in the coop and the temperature is quite stable. Next week I'll do a feather inspection, and it everyone is showing as much progress as they appear to be making now, I will raise the brooder light up a bit and drop the temperature in the light ring a few degrees.

I made a block of 2 square pieces of 2x6 nailed together, and put it under the food dispenser to adjust the height up another 1 1/2. I had one 2x4 block under the feeder and they were billing more and more food out of it. Raising it up makes the littlest chooks stretch just a little, but everyone can feed easily and I the increase in height should reduce the billing again. Once they go into the run, they will eat out there.

Thanks again to everyone who has commented on my watering platform. It's a simple idea, right out of Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, and so far it is working perfectly. The litter underneath is still dry and only a few drops of water have actually splashed down in there. It's an easy to make but very effective device...

I'd still like to know if it is too soon to start giving them treats like mealworms and small earthworms, and if I need to give them supplemental grit for that kind of protein...??

Nothing else to report other than the girls are growing fast and looking good. Still no firm idea if anyone is a roo yet, and nobody has been attempting to crow...yet.

 

[Happy Chooks]

They should have grit if you give them anything besides chick starter. I didn't do mealworms, so I'm not sure how soon you can give those, but I have given my chicks carrot tops and clover. They loved it.

 

[debbie.h]

I would think that you could begin to give them small worms. My mama hens would feed them to their biddies when I gave them some.

 

[Chieftain]

Thanx! I'll dig a couple of litle red worms out of the compost pile and see how they like those. They might enjoy a snack like that....

I'll keep ya posted...