Small chick recovered from runny eye, first egg today :)

[Atomic Ranch]

Thanks, especially for the advice-- kind of why I snuck in the photos. I'm not letting them out into the run until we've put ply and hardware cloth around the perimeter. We're burying several inches as well because of gophers. I went out in the middle of the night to check on them (I was nervous!) and noticed there are a lot of mice in the trees... I'm up against the hills so there are hawks, foxes, bunnies, skunks, all sorts of things. The barn owls residing above help with the rodent population, but I think I'll be swapping out the wire for smaller gauge today.

How are mama hen's chicks doing?

 

[lvchicken]

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Thank you!! Good days and bad for him. It may be best if he can't fend for himself, be mobile, etc. but we will monitor him and see what (if anything) we can do. Sometimes the ones who recover are stronger. In regard to CRD, I understand why culling is best for all. Since I'm not breeding or selling them, I'm happy to raise the others as egg pets

Hey, how are your chicks doing?

Here's the coop, unpainted. We worked with a fence already there, and will enclose the top. The egg box will be bumped out to the left soon. Wanted to get them out in the nice weather asap, so here are the Delawares and Cochin-- wide-eyed and (naturally) after the silo of food. I'll photo the runt "small chick" when we let her out with the others who are younger.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b18/love_those_spacemen/coopunpainted.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b18/love_those_spacemen/delsandcochin.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b18/love_those_spacemen/delsandcochin2.jpg

Exciting day for them (me)!

That is really a nice setup. they look so small in their new house. I know they love it. Can I add a bit of advise? I don't know what your predators are like out there but if I was you I would put hardware cloth around the bottom 2 ft. of your run and also around your windows. because I have read too many times about people coming out and finding their chickens pulled through their wire fencing with their heads pulled off, I am sure a very sad way to find their chickens. Again it will depend on your predators but raccoons are one of the worst for doing this, but other preds can do it too. Anyway love your setup.

My first batch of 28 chickens were all killed due to coyotes digging under to fence. Half of them were left dead on the ground and the other half were taken. The coyotes actually went through our rod iron fence and all the way back to where all the chickens were. So we then dug trenches under the fence and put fence down there so nothing could dig under the fence. It REALLY freaked me out and I screamed and cried for about 30 minutes.

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Wow, so sorry to hear. I really do dislike coyotes. How far down did you bury the new fencing? Because we're doing that this weekend. The chickens are closed in their coop until we secure the run. Were yours out in their run at the time?

 

[Miss Lydia]

wow lvchicken so sorry to hear about that, it had to have been horrible. Just wanted to add mama hens chicks are doing great running around with 6 more around the same age. keep us posted on how everything is going..

 

[lvchicken]

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We buried the fence about 2 feet down. Yes, the chickens were out at the time. It was at night, and we didn't have the coop done at the time, so we put some of the little chickens in a really nice and big dog crate, and the others in two bulky, sturdy boxes. The coyotes actually pried the dog crate door open and got all the small chickens. I really miss my wheaten ameraucana named Kiwi. She was so small and gorgeous........

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Quote:

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Quote:
We buried the fence about 2 feet down. Yes, the chickens were out at the time. It was at night, and we didn't have the coop done at the time, so we put some of the little chickens in a really nice and big dog crate, and the others in two bulky, sturdy boxes. The coyotes actually pried the dog crate door open and got all the small chickens. I really miss my wheaten ameraucana named Kiwi. She was so small and gorgeous........

Wow, well, two feet will stop everything I've read about. Our fruit trees even have screened-in root balls because of diggers. Bah! Unbelievable that they'd get through the crate.

So sorry. Your information will undoubtedly save others though...

I've doubled-over the wire for now. Kind of offset the second layer to cross the original, so that there are no openings over 1/2". Think that will do for now?

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Here she is, queen of the food court! I'm going to wait another week or so before letting her outside.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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she looks great, good job of doctoring!!

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Thank you, and sorry for the late reply. Here she is today. Outside with the rest, and munching her first pineapple. Across from her is the leghorn roo, who has miraculously recovered as well. How are your chicks doing these days?