- Dec 21, 2009
- 448
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Our golden sex links are three weeks old today and they have quickly outgrown the rubbermaid brooder tub. The last time I faced this problem, I simply converted the Chicken McMansion into a brooder coop and moved everyone out there. But there are now four teenage Rhode Island Reds (9 weeks old) the little ones would not stand a chance in the coop right now, so alternate plans were necessary.
Several years ago when I first started getting interested in rescue ferrets, I bought a small animal pen. Some of the rescue ferrets are so traumatized by the time our local shelter gets them, they need a lot of time by themselves to calm down. The pen is collapsible with a heavy duty vinyl mat with a lip that has velcro fasteners on it to keep it attached. The bars are 3/4" apart.
When we first brought our pug puppy Gus home, this pen was his first space, and it was of enormous help in housebreaking him. The vinyl liner is easy to scrub clean.
So now it is time for the little girls to give it a whirl.
I installed the brooder light for now, just because they are used to having it, but it's only a 40 watt bulb and during the day I am unplugging it. The bucket has litter in it and gives them a private place to snuggle down and sleep. I secured the fencing hinge points that can be disassembled with with wire ties so nobody can escape. Gus has been particularly interested in the pen this morning as you can imagine, but he's handling it well. He likes chickens and they are as interested in him as he is in them.
As you can see, the girls are growing fast and have significantly feathered up. They are still extremely vigorous and are doing very well. I have them on chick rations, and am supplementing that with chick scratch and corn grits mixed with just a pinch of sand. These two are also the biggest mealworm chow-hounds I've ever seen! They do a very frantic "Dance of the Mealworms" as they run around peeping hysterically with a mealworm in their beaks...IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!
Now that I can get better light on them, I'll try and get a video of the Mealworm dance later today....
Cheers!
Several years ago when I first started getting interested in rescue ferrets, I bought a small animal pen. Some of the rescue ferrets are so traumatized by the time our local shelter gets them, they need a lot of time by themselves to calm down. The pen is collapsible with a heavy duty vinyl mat with a lip that has velcro fasteners on it to keep it attached. The bars are 3/4" apart.
When we first brought our pug puppy Gus home, this pen was his first space, and it was of enormous help in housebreaking him. The vinyl liner is easy to scrub clean.
So now it is time for the little girls to give it a whirl.
I installed the brooder light for now, just because they are used to having it, but it's only a 40 watt bulb and during the day I am unplugging it. The bucket has litter in it and gives them a private place to snuggle down and sleep. I secured the fencing hinge points that can be disassembled with with wire ties so nobody can escape. Gus has been particularly interested in the pen this morning as you can imagine, but he's handling it well. He likes chickens and they are as interested in him as he is in them.
As you can see, the girls are growing fast and have significantly feathered up. They are still extremely vigorous and are doing very well. I have them on chick rations, and am supplementing that with chick scratch and corn grits mixed with just a pinch of sand. These two are also the biggest mealworm chow-hounds I've ever seen! They do a very frantic "Dance of the Mealworms" as they run around peeping hysterically with a mealworm in their beaks...IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!IT'S MINE!
Now that I can get better light on them, I'll try and get a video of the Mealworm dance later today....
Cheers!
