YaYasDottes
Chirping
Today, eight Wyandotte hens were born at the Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Happy Birthday to my new flock!
Tomorrow, they will be picked up at the hatchery and brought home to their new nursery in our spare room. There, they will spend the next two weeks in a brooder box. My daughter actually found this brooder box on Facebook Marketplace. It was subsequently placed at the curb just a few miles from my home for me to pick up for free!
From the brooder box, they will graduate to a small coop in the back yard with an attached pen for outings on the lawn during the day. At night, they will come back inside.
Hopefully, I will be able to finish their 4x8 coop and 8x10 pen before they outgrow the little one. My backup plan is to use a Gaylord box with hardware cloth weighted on the edges and draped over the top.
I think I am ready with this 4x2 Rubbermaid tote. I scrubbed it with Palmolive soap, rinsed it thoroughly, and left it in the sun all day.
My choice of bedding is pine flakes with a sprinkling of Sweet PDZ in it to keep our house from smelling like a barn.
I have turned on the Brinsea Eco Glow warmer to preheat the brooder to 95 degrees. A thermometer will show exactly how warm it is in the brooder.
I will be feeding the chicks Manna Pro Medicated Chick Starter. Their water will contain a half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, electrolytes, and probiotics. The food and water will sit on a 2x4 at the end opposite from the warmer.
The locking brooder top has a solid end and an open end with 1/2" hardware cloth over it. I also purchased a battery operated lamp to set on top of the lid. I thought the chicks might appreciate a little light, since the tote is dark blue. All of these items came from TSC, except for the warmer. I found it on Amazon.
If anyone can see any blatant oversights, please advise me. I will take all the advice I can get!
Please join me in praying that God will bless these chicks with long and healthy lives in service to us humans who like eggs and the gentle clucking outside the bedroom window on summer mornings.
Tomorrow, they will be picked up at the hatchery and brought home to their new nursery in our spare room. There, they will spend the next two weeks in a brooder box. My daughter actually found this brooder box on Facebook Marketplace. It was subsequently placed at the curb just a few miles from my home for me to pick up for free!
From the brooder box, they will graduate to a small coop in the back yard with an attached pen for outings on the lawn during the day. At night, they will come back inside.
Hopefully, I will be able to finish their 4x8 coop and 8x10 pen before they outgrow the little one. My backup plan is to use a Gaylord box with hardware cloth weighted on the edges and draped over the top.
I think I am ready with this 4x2 Rubbermaid tote. I scrubbed it with Palmolive soap, rinsed it thoroughly, and left it in the sun all day.
My choice of bedding is pine flakes with a sprinkling of Sweet PDZ in it to keep our house from smelling like a barn.
I have turned on the Brinsea Eco Glow warmer to preheat the brooder to 95 degrees. A thermometer will show exactly how warm it is in the brooder.
I will be feeding the chicks Manna Pro Medicated Chick Starter. Their water will contain a half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, electrolytes, and probiotics. The food and water will sit on a 2x4 at the end opposite from the warmer.
The locking brooder top has a solid end and an open end with 1/2" hardware cloth over it. I also purchased a battery operated lamp to set on top of the lid. I thought the chicks might appreciate a little light, since the tote is dark blue. All of these items came from TSC, except for the warmer. I found it on Amazon.
If anyone can see any blatant oversights, please advise me. I will take all the advice I can get!
Please join me in praying that God will bless these chicks with long and healthy lives in service to us humans who like eggs and the gentle clucking outside the bedroom window on summer mornings.
