The chicks started in the house since we had a cold snap and I wasn't comfortable putting them outside for a week or two. Booted them out to the patio as soon as it warmed up a bit.
We've been getting them yard time as much as we can and then putting them in the brooder on the grass on weekends. DH suggested this weekend we build them a pen and cover it to keep them in.
So this is what we came up with. Pulled out the old duck house and some of our garden trellising frames and adding some more fencing around them to keep the chicks in. Yard is fenced. Under some trees for a bit of extra cover from the local hawk. But entirely covered.
Duck house is next to it.
We'll close them into the old duck house tonight. Shouldn't be too cold tonight and they are almost 6 weeks old and appear to be pretty much fully feathered.
Will move the school chicks to the brooder on the patio tomorrow until 4 get picked up for a new home and then the other 2 will go back to school on Monday for the week. And then we'll see what the plan is after that. I'm contemplating keeping one (both are polish) or both for a bit at least to see if one is a girl...
We've been getting them yard time as much as we can and then putting them in the brooder on the grass on weekends. DH suggested this weekend we build them a pen and cover it to keep them in.
So this is what we came up with. Pulled out the old duck house and some of our garden trellising frames and adding some more fencing around them to keep the chicks in. Yard is fenced. Under some trees for a bit of extra cover from the local hawk. But entirely covered.
Duck house is next to it.
We'll close them into the old duck house tonight. Shouldn't be too cold tonight and they are almost 6 weeks old and appear to be pretty much fully feathered.
Will move the school chicks to the brooder on the patio tomorrow until 4 get picked up for a new home and then the other 2 will go back to school on Monday for the week. And then we'll see what the plan is after that. I'm contemplating keeping one (both are polish) or both for a bit at least to see if one is a girl...
