Today is the day!

ZooAtHome

Songster
Jun 7, 2018
147
270
136
NW Oregon
My twelve chicks now range from 6-8 weeks old. They have been off heat for at least a couple weeks now and even the two youngest are fully feathered. They are also getting crowded in the brooder that looked so huge (4'x4'x2') when I got them back in April. Weather is looking good for the next few days. Warm but not hot, little or no rain. I do believe the time has come to move the girls (& two guys) out to their coop.

Coop and run are finished and as secure as I can make them, except for the apron and rain gutter, both of which I hope to finish up today. The chickens will be restricted to the coop at first anyway, so the apron will definitely be in place before they start accessing the run. Rain gutter is strictly for my convenience, so no worries there.

I am excited and more than a little nervous. I feel I've done a good job building a secure home for them, but still worry I might have overlooked something. In spite of that, I do feel they are ready ... even if I am not. :hmm They are healthy and seem happy, but don't really enjoy being in the brooder any more. Everyone quickly flies out to sit on the top whenever I open it and I have to urge them to go back in when I need to close it back up. My fluffy babies aren't babies any more, but rather youngsters ready to enter their next phase of life. Yes, it is definitely time.

Just a nervous new mom trying to reassure herself as she takes a big step with her first chickens. Wish us luck!
 
In other words, I should mute the camera I put in there to keep an eye on them? :p

Good luck tonight! We have our first flock of 6 in the brooder now - they're 2-4 weeks old so we've got a little while to go before the coop. My husband already asked for a coop cam - which I plan to get him for Father's Day...what kind do you have?
 
Good luck tonight! We have our first flock of 6 in the brooder now - they're 2-4 weeks old so we've got a little while to go before the coop. My husband already asked for a coop cam - which I plan to get him for Father's Day...what kind do you have?

I use the Reolink C2 Pro. I like it because it has night vision and pan/tilt/zoom capabilities, allowing me to see almost the entire coop, including nest boxes, with just a single camera. (Less than one square foot, right below the camera is not visible to me.) It can also be connected via LAN cable or WiFi and you can record from it to an NVR (network video recorder) or onto a micro SD card. Extremely versatile little camera for the price. It's the same one I use in the brooder and it has worked flawlessly, in spite of relentless pecking and pooping from the chicks. I think they resent the "shiny eye" always watching them. :lau

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LH2RS77/?tag=backy-20

It is an "indoor" camera though, so it does need protection from the elements. I have an outdoor, less feature rich camera for monitoring the outside of the coop and the run.
 
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Inspiration. This is my latest brood of 8, five girls 3 boys. They've been sleeping in the coop since they were about 5 weeks.
They are 7 weeks now and today is their second day running free in the yard. The sad peeping is over, the only hurdle now is fear of squirrels.;)
20190522_112544.jpg
20190522_112537.jpg
 
Inspiration. This is my latest brood of 8, five girls 3 boys. They've been sleeping in the coop since they were about 5 weeks.
They are 7 weeks now and today is their second day running free in the yard. The sad peeping is over, the only hurdle now is fear of squirrels.;)View attachment 1785240 View attachment 1785241

Wow. I'm amazed at the difference between my 4-5 week olds and those - enormous change!

 

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