My chicks can fly!!!

[I_Love_Chickens]

Wow i'm amazed. I didn't see the chicks doing this at the hardware store, what are the odds that they are just learning to fly, a few days after I get them? Its crazy. I know they only do short distances but I didn't even think they could do it this quick, they are flying up and landing on top of their water dish which is halfway up my box which has no top, so tomorrow i'm going back to the hardware store to get me some chickenwire to put over the top so they won't fly out and run around my room. Its still too cold to make them stay outside so I have them in my bedroom where my cat can't get them. This has been fun keeping him out. Hes so curious and wants to play with them. *I'm now kicking myself in the butt for giving my cat all these toys with feathers on them. ha. Its like telling him to play with feathers but then telling him he can't anymore. Doesn't make since. Ha. Poor confused cat.

So anyways i'm just so taken back that in the few days that i've had these things they are learning to fly already. I'm going to have to start putting my freetime into rennovating my garage into their coop I suppose now. When they are still small, what do you use for them to start perching on? I'm sure it has to be low as they are so small. I know they have to get bigger before I can put them out there but i'm sure at the rate they are growing it won't be too long. How old do they have to be when you put them outside? I thought I read something that says 60 days and they need perches and stuff. I dunno. I have so many questions that it looks like I need to devote some more of my freetime to researching too. I think i'll go to the library and get books to read at work in my freetime. I work at a call center so in between calls I could read them.

I guess I could go ahead as planned and set up the shelves as nesting boxes in my garage. I have these cabinets out there and all I have to do is pull the doors of the hinges and then I have nicely spaced shelves and there is one at the very bottom that they can start off on since they are so small. My garage is totally sealed up so its predator free by the way. I've only had the occasional problem with a bug and I think a mouse once but thats it really. Pretty cool. So anyways sorry to keep buggin you all for advice. Ha. Love ya! -nate

 

[pegbo]

When I got my baby chicks last April I was amazed at the places they got. They were on top of the waterers and a few got right out of the brooder box which was four feet high. They're clever little babies that's for sure.

 

[Hotwings]

Are any of your chicks Bantams? Bantams are very good fliers! Have 5 millie Fleur hens and they can fly really well. Most standard size chickens don't fly as well when they get full size. If you want fun try Bantams, they will supply you with endless hours of entertainment lol.

 

[Blisschick]

I have a cat that kept getting into the box and would just sit in the middle of them to watch them. Amazingly, she never ate any, but they would all be cowering in a corner in terror wondering why this big THING was in their box. I had to put chicken wire over the top to keep her out.

They're very smart, and once one figures out how to get out, the others will see it and do the same. Never underestimate them. They're escape artists!

 

[mudhen]

I too have been amazed at how high they jump/fly!
I've been using a cardboard roof over the pen to keep them in. It is just amazing to me, but so much fun to watch, as if they are saying "Lookit wat I can do!! No, me, me, look at me I can go higher!"!

 

[SpottedCrow]

The first time you get a peep in the face you remember that wings just aren't for hotsauce...

 

[I_Love_Chickens]

Ha thanks for all the comments on this, they cracked me up. Nope they aren't bantams, they are just mixed breed chicks. The hardware store had these different cattle water tanks with chicks in them and they were marked as follows in each bin: bantams, pullets, straight run chicks, heavies. And I just got 10 pullets. So as far as what they are, probably mixed breed. Ha.

 

[TheBigWRanch]

If you got them from a store I doubt they are mixed breed. Pullets are usually breeds that are a good layer, because that is what most people want hens for.

 

[I_Love_Chickens]

Hmmm i'm constantly learning. Ha. How would I know what kind they are? I have five little reddish brown ones and then 2 black ones and 3 yellow ones. The yellow ones seem to be the biggest and then the black ones are the smallest and the brown ones fall in between the two of them in size.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Quote:
If we keep our chicks in the house we keep them in a cast iron cage like for a parrot. We will put perches at a lower level it is fun to see them get off the floor and utilize the perches to sleep at such a young age.