One week old chicks flying..yikes!

[DiVon80]

I always raise mine in large dog crates, they are fully in closed. The one I am using now is wire and lined with a plastic hardware cloth. In the beginning I have the light on the inside as they age its on top. It even keeps my cats out. If needed for warmth I cover all or part of it. Mine were flying/flapping around, young also. They are healthy and happy. You are doing good. My first set of bantams were crated in my dog room with my dogs and it took my husband 2 weeks to know they were there. HA!

 

[packmomma]

Well your not alone with your flying babies..Mine too!! I have chicken wire over a large wooden 4x5 box. I cut a hole and cover that with a piece from an old dog crate so I can get in and out. They are flying around so much in the mornings when I come see them. Its almost like..hey mom look what I can do.. and then pretty soon they are all saying that. So I praise them and tell them how good of flyers they are.

One drawback...all their practice flying and running around is getting their water totally full of pine shavings..food too. Anyone think of a way to remedy this let me know! I thought about building a wall around the water..that is the worst...but they would probably just fly up on the top of the wall anyway..lol.

My chicks are two weeks and all scraggly looking cause they are getting neck feathers in..lol. They look like my hair does when I first get up in the morning!

 

[Brickman House]

Definitely fashion a secure fitting lid! My week olds don't "fly" per se, but they've definitely gotten some air when they're startled.

I brood mine in a Rubbermaid tub. I cut a hole in the lid about 3/4 the size of the lid itself, and then ziptied hardware cloth to the hole. It provides plenty of ventilation, but there's no way anything can get in, or out!

 

[NotTheMomma]

Coming from TSC they might have been a week old or more when you got 'em.

BTW, love their hen house! Will the roof open to get the eggs or is there a door? Are you planning to expand the area they have underneath? Just wondering because I've got mine with a 10'x40' lot, but they freerange in the yard also. They need more room than I orginally thought!

 

[loopityloop]

What a fright!

My chicks are 5 days old and *big wings* was proud of herself it seemed as she flew from my one arm to the other last night! I was shocked like you!

Her wings are noticably longer than the other two chicks. She was proud! haha You could just see her smiling at self. =P

 

[W.CharltonChickens]

hehe

One of my little goobers flew up to the top of the brooder today too. They are from TS about a week ago also. So they could be older. The one that flew had full wing feathers in.

So, I go to grab him and the silly chick jumps in to the duckling brooder. The ducks freaked

So, now I have a rack from the bottom of a large bird cage over the top of them. Silly chickies

Todd

 

[Wateredgarden11]

Someone asked about the run we will be making to go with our coop house. Yes the total run will be like 5 by 8 and perhaps 4' high. The area under the coop is just for shade and gives them a bit more room. The egg box will be located so that I can open from outside the house. We still have a long way to go to get our coop and run finished. But the way these little girls are going..we need to get it finished quickly! They sure grow fast!

 

[Cluckatar]

I have 2 chicks less than two weeks old, and another 5 who are four weeks old in tupperware brooders next to each other. Well, the big girls have taught one of the little ones to fly and roost on the side of the brooder this morning. And then of course the big girls ran and hid in a corner peeping for me to come save them

For whatever reason... my 4 week olds are mostly happy to roost on the edges of the box and stay put. We've had a few flights down off the table to the floor, but I guess that was scary, so not so many repeats. I have a window screen I put over the top when I'm not around to watch them. It is very much time for us to finish our coop building and get those girls outdoors and out of my kitchen. I will miss their antics... but there is only so much chicken poop smell a mom can handle.

We should have known she would be a flyer

this morning when the EE chick joined the others

all our "big" girls lined up, a turken, 3 welsummers and a barnevelder