- Jun 6, 2011
- 142
- 0
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I am in Kennebunk Maine and this is a very new hobby for me. We purchased some Sex-Linked chicks two months ago and lost 3 of our first 6 to unexpected wildlife. We have since spiffed up the coop, and gotten an actual clasp lock. (the animal unhooked our hooks)
We had a hard time finding some replacements, (that weren't chicks) as our coop is designed for six and we wanted to keep them as close in age as possible to keep intros easier but to no avail! We picked up a 20 week old hen, and un knowingly added her to our 5 week old girls. Despite some pecking order they have adapted well, and the 20 week girl is laying already. I was expecting 8 months! We have 100 square feet fenced in right now, so they have plenty of room to hide from one another.
This week we got two more chicks, Barred Rocks I think, but they are only 1 week old. They are in a dog crate in the house in a heat lamp. When they get to be about feathered I was wondering how to introduce them? The 5 weekers are growing like weeds and they won't be the same size, but can we supervise feeding times? We could even take out the grumpy older hen during the intros to reduce injuries.
We have a 3x4 coop, raised off the ground, with 6 nesting boxes and a roosting pole. We'll have to make an enclosed addition to keep the animals at bay, and keep them closed up in the winter.
Any advice greatly appreciated! We are going to our first poultry swap just for information, but any good stores or shops near us in Kennebunk?
P.S. any suggestions about racoons? It seems we have attracted some nasty little pest and all the dogs do is bark, they don't seem to scare them away. I don't want them to steal anymore birds. (We are in a firearm restricted zone so all we can use is a pellet gun, or have a heart trap)
Dani
We had a hard time finding some replacements, (that weren't chicks) as our coop is designed for six and we wanted to keep them as close in age as possible to keep intros easier but to no avail! We picked up a 20 week old hen, and un knowingly added her to our 5 week old girls. Despite some pecking order they have adapted well, and the 20 week girl is laying already. I was expecting 8 months! We have 100 square feet fenced in right now, so they have plenty of room to hide from one another.
This week we got two more chicks, Barred Rocks I think, but they are only 1 week old. They are in a dog crate in the house in a heat lamp. When they get to be about feathered I was wondering how to introduce them? The 5 weekers are growing like weeds and they won't be the same size, but can we supervise feeding times? We could even take out the grumpy older hen during the intros to reduce injuries.
We have a 3x4 coop, raised off the ground, with 6 nesting boxes and a roosting pole. We'll have to make an enclosed addition to keep the animals at bay, and keep them closed up in the winter.
Any advice greatly appreciated! We are going to our first poultry swap just for information, but any good stores or shops near us in Kennebunk?
P.S. any suggestions about racoons? It seems we have attracted some nasty little pest and all the dogs do is bark, they don't seem to scare them away. I don't want them to steal anymore birds. (We are in a firearm restricted zone so all we can use is a pellet gun, or have a heart trap)
Dani
