Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

My chicks got a treat today. We found tiny maggots in the hair that the bunnies are nesting in because apparently one had died and was buried under the rest. My daughter patiently picked them out of the nesting hair so she could give the bunnies a clean bed and feed the maggots to the chicks. We have been contemplating giving them some small mealworms from the colony I have for our bearded dragon or some red wigglers from the worm bins but these were just the right size and the chicks loved them. They have been scratching through the shavings looking for bugs so it was fun to reward them for their chicken behavior. I think we will try mealworms next.

The chicks also love the perches I gave them and all the jumping up and down seems to keep them busy but they still spend a lot of time scratching and trying to take a dry bath in the shavings. I have them in a clear tub so we can watch them play. Raising chicks is fun but I want eggs! At least I have time to adapt the duck house for chickens before they are ready to go outside.

 

[cieraphoto]

Final chick count...3/3 Jubilee Orps and 7/7 Chocolate Orps! Yay!!

 

[VelvettFog]

My chicks got a treat today. We found tiny maggots in the hair that the bunnies are nesting in because apparently one had died and was buried under the rest. My daughter patiently picked them out of the nesting hair so she could give the bunnies a clean bed and feed the maggots to the chicks. We have been contemplating giving them some small mealworms from the colony I have for our bearded dragon or some red wigglers from the worm bins but these were just the right size and the chicks loved them. They have been scratching through the shavings looking for bugs so it was fun to reward them for their chicken behavior. I think we will try mealworms next.

The chicks also love the perches I gave them and all the jumping up and down seems to keep them busy but they still spend a lot of time scratching and trying to take a dry bath in the shavings. I have them in a clear tub so we can watch them play. Raising chicks is fun but I want eggs! At least I have time to adapt the duck house for chickens before they are ready to go outside.

Be sure you are supplying chick grit before you feed anything but chick-starter - If you knew that -- sorry If you didn't its a common thing that folks new to chickens (if your not new then - well, sorry ) don't know.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Haha, Travis, I will get a close up in the morning, I had a pic on here a few weeks back wondering and the response I got on the "What breed/gender" thread leaned toward pullet. Have not seen any hackle feathers on any of them, but the EE...they seem to have a different feather shape is all I can tell.


So sorry to hear about your Minnow TerrorBird

Hackles don't come in til around 12 weeks, so you shouldn't see any yet.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

So I went out to feed everyone this morning, and when I got to the tractor holding the "meat group" I only see 4 of the 5 birds supposed to be in there. I notice the dog food bowl tipped over and thought no way a chicken was under that. Sure enough, #5 was under it all night. Dumb chicken. Good thing it wasn't too cold last night. Everyone says these cornish x are dumb and now I believe it.

 

[kkublic]

Good morning everyone! Off to habitat for humanity to find some odds and ends for the new coop. Can't wait to see our new chicks in it. We are planning it to be 4x5 for 6 birds. Is this big enough for our girls?

 

[nikki1]

Good morning everyone! Off to habitat for humanity to find some odds and ends for the new coop. Can't wait to see our new chicks in it. We are planning it to be 4x5 for 6 birds. Is this big enough for our girls?

They say 4 square feet of floor space for bird, and you're a little shy of that. Any way to expand to 4x6? On the other hand, if you have a big run and/or your girls can free range, it might be okay. I'm a little short of indoor space myself (7 birds in 24 square feet), but they're hardly ever indoors. They have a 12x6 run, and a half acre fenced yard where they free range all day, and nobody seems short of elbow room.

I LOVE the Habitat for Humanity store! My son and I did some SERIOUS scavenging last spring when we were building. I found knobs, paint (NICE quality exterior paint in unopened containers for a song!), nails, and all kinds of other stuff. DS and I laughed hysterically over the thought of some of the ornate knobs and fittings we found going on a coop. (But a piece of me still thinks it would have been fun and quirky to include them...) Have fun, and give yourself lots of browsing time.

--Nikki

 

[kkublic]

Thanks nikki! I think I will expand it to 4x6 or heck maybe 4x7. We haven't started building yet so it's no biggie. We also love that store! We were there a few days ago and the hubby thought it would be great to turn an old pink toilet into a feeder for our girls. I'm stoked that he's jumped on the chicken wagon with me but he must be crazy if he thinks I am going to allow a bright pink toilet smack in the middle of our yard. Some peoples kids (aka hubbys) lol.

 

[VelvettFog]

Good morning everyone! Off to habitat for humanity to find some odds and ends for the new coop. Can't wait to see our new chicks in it. We are planning it to be 4x5 for 6 birds. Is this big enough for our girls?

most will say no - 4 sq ft per bird is what most will recremend.

 

[VelvettFog]

Thanks nikki! I think I will expand it to 4x6 or heck maybe 4x7. We haven't started building yet so it's no biggie. We also love that store! We were there a few days ago and the hubby thought it would be great to turn an old pink toilet into a feeder for our girls. I'm stoked that he's jumped on the chicken wagon with me but he must be crazy if he thinks I am going to allow a bright pink toilet smack in the middle of our yard. Some peoples kids (aka hubbys) lol.

You are close enough to me that you should come see my stuff before you build yours.

I'd also recremend 4x8 if you can - good size cuz of what size lumber is when you buy it.

I even have a chicken coop book you can borrow