Redinator's First Hatch-Along w Bonus Broody: And Everything Thereafter

[redinator]

It's out!

 

[jxp]

It's out!

Congrats on all your new babies.

 

[redinator]

Now I have a bit of a gap between batches. March 10th will be day 17 for the first batch of Olive colored eggs and CCLs; and day 7 for the second batch of eggs for my neighbor.

 

[redinator]

I might have to setup a second brooder. I just realized I have black chicks from two separate hatches.

Surprisingly though, none of my mixes hatched out chipmunk striped so they're easy to tell from the pure bred chicks . . so far.

 

[Sefirothe]

These pop up fabric/mesh play pens make great brooders! And they are cheap!

 

[tviss711]

These pop up fabric/mesh play pens make great brooders! And they are cheap!

View attachment 4307462

I second that! I got one from walmart that is tall, too, so it is great even when the chicks start getting bigger and want to "fly". My hubby even made a tiny roost bar for them that fit inside! Has top and side zipper entry and folds up nice and compact when not in use. I'll never go back!

 

[redinator]

These pop up fabric/mesh play pens make great brooders! And they are cheap!

View attachment 4307462

I second that! I got one from walmart that is tall, too, so it is great even when the chicks start getting bigger and want to "fly". My hubby even made a tiny roost bar for them that fit inside! Has top and side zipper entry and folds up nice and compact when not in use. I'll never go back!

My dog would destroy that in minutes. I also don't have tons of floor space. I'll just empty another bin and add to the pile by the wall.

I'll eventually buy bins to use as indoor brooders, but I don't want to destroy the lids on these to add a screen. They're fairly expensive and heavy duty with wheels and a handle.

 

[redinator]

I figured it out. The 4 black/dark grey chicks from this hatch got leg bands. Now I'll be able to tell them apart from the slightly older chicks, assuming they don't fall off.

 

[Sefirothe]

My dog would destroy that in minutes. I also don't have tons of floor space. I'll just empty another bin and add to the pile by the wall.

I'll eventually buy bins to use as indoor brooders, but I don't want to destroy the lids on these to add a screen. They're fairly expensive and heavy duty with wheels and a handle.

Oh I get that. I had to use a hard sided tote when I had the quail chicks upstairs where my dog could access them too. Thankfully he’s pretty terrified of stairs so doesn’t really go down to the basement where the mesh pen lives.