PuPu Platter

[SandyRiverChick]

All brand new, first time, dear-God-what-have-I-got-myself-into, chickening. Happily, I am racking up one heck of a list of how to never do this ever again.

It may very well not be your "preferred cup of tea." But that's why I say due to the very real gross element, you should seriously look into outdoor brooding. I will never, ever have chicks in my house again after putting that same amount of effort into a warm, predator proof outdoor situation. In the event that you're just not into it at all, they are very easy to give away on forum's everywhere.....

 

[3KillerBs]

It may very well not be your "preferred cup of tea." But that's why I say due to the very real gross element, you should seriously look into outdoor brooding. I will never, ever have chicks in my house again after putting that same amount of effort into a warm, predator proof outdoor situation. In the event that you're just not into it at all, they are very easy to give away on forum's everywhere.....

I'm a great fan of outdoor brooding too.

DH, in fact, flatly refuses to have chickens in the house outside the incubator or short-term emergencies and I agree.

My Outdoor Brooder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

The not-quite-week-old chicks out there right now aren't even using their brooder plate since it's so hot here.

 

[TheGreatChickening]

In the event that you're just not into it at all, they are very easy to give away on forum's everywhere.....

I need to get these heifers outside before I make any final decisions. I am hopeful that having them anywhere but inside my kitchen will be a more enjoyable experience. (But I will keep this information tucked away just in case.)

 

[TheGreatChickening]

I'm a great fan of outdoor brooding too.

DH, in fact, flatly refuses to have chickens in the house outside the incubator or short-term emergencies and I agree.

My Outdoor Brooder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

The not-quite-week-old chicks out there right now aren't even using their brooder plate since it's so hot here.

Ugh! My DH grew up on a farm and thought keeping them in the kitchen was a great idea?? He is kind of a joker though. Hrmmm...

Our weather is 75F at night. Is that safe for chicks? I thought they had to be 90+ all the time. If 75 is amenable, these bad boys are outta here tonight.

 

[TheGreatChickening]

I do hope your glorious descriptive powers can soon be otherwise channeled in experiencing less traumatic events in your kitchen. I do commend your rate of 4 pieces in 2 hours, as faith without works is dead, some effort, without a doubt, must surpass none at all!

This smidgen of "work" is probably going to be redone by DH the moment I am not out there "helping" him. It's pretty awful. Lol.

 

[RiverOtter]

Ahh, you poor thing. Like motherhood, you will either develop a huge tolerance to unspeakable mess or, unlike motherhood (one hopes), give up and give them away.

You can buy a box of septic booster for about $3, so bleach away! Then just flush the booster in a couple of days - bleach breaks down fairly quickly.

Also, you'll find that more space = less horror. If your chicks are disgusting, they need a bigger enclosure. It makes a truly astonishing amount of difference, I swear.

I grew up in an inner city. But now? Now I have been covered in every bodily fluid at some point. Yeah, that too. (whatever it was you were thinking) I'm totally unfazed by any sort of mess or weather - it all cleans and it all clears - and have a robust post-apocalyptic skill set. You can do it!!

 

[TheGreatChickening]

They do poop a ton though, and everywhere.

I thought chickens were like all birds. And all birds do their ploppy black and white windshield spatter. How bad could it be? I did not know chickens were very nearly competitors in the human bowel movement Olympic events.

I read so much about shoveling out the run and putting the manure in the compost. The entire time, I was envisioning black and white spattered dirt getting composted, which I thought was RIDICULOUS, but I still started a compost pile nonetheless. No one ever showed a picture of poop. Wellllllll... Except for the one lady talking about pasty butt, but I misunderstood and thought small aliens were taking over their bowels and that those gargantuan evacuations were part of the sickness of Aliens Versus Predachickens.

 

[3KillerBs]

Ugh! My DH grew up on a farm and thought keeping them in the kitchen was a great idea?? He is kind of a joker though. Hrmmm...

Our weather is 75F at night. Is that safe for chicks? I thought they had to be 90+ all the time. If 75 is amenable, these bad boys are outta here tonight.

Yes, they do have to have their appropriate level of heat. My outdoor brooder has an extension cord connected to the outside electric and to their heat source.

Now that I have a brooder plate it's so much easier. Instead of constantly raising and lowering the chain on the lamp I just let the chicks either go under the brooder plate, sit next to it, or sit on top of it. After the first few days they know what to do.

 

[3KillerBs]

I thought chickens were like all birds. And all birds do their ploppy black and white windshield spatter. How bad could it be? I did not know chickens were very nearly competitors in the human bowel movement Olympic events.

I read so much about shoveling out the run and putting the manure in the compost. The entire time, I was envisioning black and white spattered dirt getting composted, which I thought was RIDICULOUS, but I still started a compost pile nonetheless. No one ever showed a picture of poop. Wellllllll... Except for the one lady talking about pasty butt, but I misunderstood and thought small aliens were taking over their bowels and that those gargantuan evacuations were part of the sickness of Aliens Versus Predachickens.

I use Deep Bedding and the poop mostly vanishes into the bedding. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[TheGreatChickening]

Ahh, you poor thing. Like motherhood, you will either develop a huge tolerance to unspeakable mess or, unlike motherhood (one hopes), give up and give them away.

You can buy a box of septic booster for about $3, so bleach away! Then just flush the booster in a couple of days - bleach breaks down fairly quickly.

Also, you'll find that more space = less horror. If your chicks are disgusting, they need a bigger enclosure. It makes a truly astonishing amount of difference, I swear.

I grew up in an inner city. But now? Now I have been covered in every bodily fluid at some point. Yeah, that too. (whatever it was you were thinking) I'm totally unfazed by any sort of mess or weather - it all cleans and it all clears - and have a robust post-apocalyptic skill set. You can do it!!

First paragraph: I guffawed loudly.

Middle paragraphs: incredibly helpful. I will be trying the booster and the bigger space for sure.

Final paragraph: I felt that. I have seen and touched every imaginable horror (usually accidentally before realizing what I'd got myself into).

Penultimate & Final sentences: I have visions of chicken gladiators in my head and aspirations to become one. Thank you!