Quick Question - Now with Pics

[Anianna]

I'm picking up my week-old keets Friday. I have heard that keets can fly even better than young chickens. My brooder is an open-top tub and my chickens were about 4 weeks old before they could get out with great effort (the outward angle of the sides make flying out a little more difficult). Can keets fly well enough that I need to build a cover for my brooder?

 

[PeepsCA]

By 2 weeks old they will be getting out of that tub if not sooner, plus every time you reach into the tub to feed water and clean up after them they will try to fly out. IMO your brooder should be covered from day 1 just to be on the safe side.

 

[Anianna]

I'll build a cap, then. Thank you.

 

[PeepsCA]

Post some pics of your new babies when you get them!

 

[Anianna]

I believed you when you said I needed to put a top on my brooder. It seems, though, that the one I built was inadequate. I wish I had thought to take pictures at the time, but my husband came blasting out of the bathroom laughing his head off announcing that none of my keets were in the tub! I went in there to find all but one perched in the window sills above the tub and the littlest one desperately trying to reach its friends. I gathered them up and put them back in the tub and set about improving my top, but nothing seemed like it would safely keep them in.

So, to make them more comfy, I removed the cap entirely and simply screened the entire tub area in with bird netting from wall to wall! They get the entire tub area including the windows!

 

[PeepsCA]

LOL that's funny! They are pretty determined lil buggers, and all it takes is one them to figure something out, then the rest follow suit ('cept for the lil ones that can't quite make it, lol). The window sill is a great place for them to hang out, lots of sun and they get a view of the big world outside, a pic of them all up there looking out would be priceless

You might want to make sure nobody gets left out in the cold and isn't able to get to the brooder lamp if they get cold tho (especially at night).

 

[Anianna]

Unfortunately, it's bathroom windows, so they don't get to see outside, but it doesn't stop them. There are two windows, but they insist on all crowding into one at a time. It's so funny.

Inevitably, one gets pushed out. When it does, they all shift over and when the one hops back up, another one generally pops out. They spend the morning doing this!

The other funny things is that one decides to go eat or drink or just hang out back in the brooder and the others follow one-by-one:

Miss Noisy left, down to five

four

three

two

one

done!

I'll have to clean up a bit more, but they seem happy enough now. Miss Noisy only throws a fit if she is on the outside edge of the window sill or in the middle of the night now. LOL

 

[TarheelBirdy]

These pictures are great!

 

[PeepsCA]

LOL yes, great pics, that's so cute, lol. Jumping up and down like that is good exercise for them and the sunlight even if filtered is good for them too.

Mine do the follow the leader thing too, it's their flock mentality thing going on... safety in numbers, plus they don't want to miss out on anything good, lol

Thanks for posting those