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[scbatz33]

Quote:
Krystal's coming!!!!!

 

[PepsNick]

Knox, those babies are cute! I'm with Amy- more more MORE! Have fun on your Ireland trip, and I am sorry about your friend.

Brandon, my heart melted at both those pictures! I love the group shot- it's hard to get those with chickens, ya know!

LH I love the banties, as always.

Cyn, it's pretty warm down here, but WET! Bllleeehhhh. Bleeehh.


There's a few things I've noticed about these Delawares, so thought I'd share:

-They DO grow fast, and are clucking at 8 weeks!
-They certainly are friendly, especially Jess! I'm trying to teach her her name, as I did with Pepper. Cassidy is still warming up to me, but progressing.
-They are GREAT foragers! Really, no one that I know of has mentioned Delawares for their ranging skills. The coops are in the very back of our property, and they've made it all the way to the back door! ALREADY! It took the old girls months to get that far.
-One of the chicks is still confusing me. I will go get pics. I can't figure out the gender!

These guys are going to live with the big girls next Thursday. They are already foraging side by side and going into the big coop without the old ladies even minding. This should be easy! I guess the old ladies will have to eat chick feed with oyster shell (out of the chicks' reach), until the chicks are old enough for layer feed.

If the mystery chick is a girl, anyone have names?

 

[speckledhen]

Delawares are master foragers, Nick. Isaac goes further into the woods than any other rooster I've had with the flock.

Been working on the new coop all day and I can barely move! HAVE to finish this coop except for the nestboxes. Got the storage area inner walls up and the divider wall between storage and coop area up, moved the broody pen/brooder from the old ladies coop to this one (was screwed in place, not nailed) and built an 19"platform for it since I don't want to bend over too far. It was originally built on the floor of a storage area in the old ladies' coop so it needed a floor added, but the entire thing moved as one piece, thank goodness.

These chicks in my bator have to go out there by a week old since my brooder in the house is nowhere big enough for this many! I still have 65 in the running and plan to candle the ones in bator #2 tonight, if my back will hold out.

When they get too big for the brooder we just installed, I just have to move them to the other side of the wall into the actual coop area. The smaller brooder in the house is 2'x3' and 18" high. This one is 29.5" x 40-something" long x 27" high so a tad larger. It's already made from hardware cloth so it's mouse-proof.

 

[PepsNick]

Didn't you have a brooder in your garage? I love your little house brooder. I just set up a tub brooder to keep in my bedroom, on my desk. I guess I can hold about six chicks in there.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't have a garage, Nick. I have a broody pen underneath Zane's cage and one in the other side in the front storage area of the old ladies coop, which is the one we moved today. I have an old rabbit cage I renovated to use as a brooder way back when I got the first chicks-that one is currently in my second bedroom/office.

 

[PepsNick]

Quote:
Oh, sorry, I typed garage, I meant basement. My bad.

 

[speckledhen]

Ok, that makes more sense. Sure would like a garage, though! No, the brooder in my office that you saw was the one I used to have in the basement.

This is the pen we moved to the new coop to use as a brooder.

 

[Cetawin]

Cyn I love that cage. That is perfect.

 

[speckledhen]

The pen wider that I'd like in there, but removing it made lots more storage in the old ladies' coop, so it doesn't matter-storage is storage. The new coop is a better location since those double doors where it used to be are leaky and need replacing. They would have more cool air on them in the original location of that pen, so this is just a better situation for very young chicks.


Oh, LH, the last bag of Knockout we got had different variety of corn and much fewer sunflower seeds--bet they're trying to save money in the mix. The corn was very whitish, like Silver Queen corn, if you've seen that variety. It had some yellow corn, but not much.

 

[Braclin]

Well second set of eggs are now in the hatcher. THe 7 other babies are doing great. Now have 23 eggs in the bator due around April 13th and 18th. Last round till after May.