Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[ShockValue]

Well what do you know..... Even after momma got confused (my fault, really) on which nest she was supposed to be on and let the clutch get cold twice, we have chicks hatching!

Last night we had 1 Marans out. Peeping but not too active.



This morning the first Marans was dead

But.... We added 1 more Marans which was healthy and scared to death of the "HUGE HAND FROM THE SKY"/
1 Ameraucana just hatched and looking OK
1 Ameraucana egg pipped
1 Olive egger egg pipped

2 more Marans eggs dormant

 

[Shanny050]

...

I'm thinking you're going to have a lot of poop land in those nest boxes.  I would prefer a foot.  And remember that they will roost on the highest point so you may get some that prefer the top of the nest boxes or even the front lip as it *appears* to be the the same height as the roost.  (But the pic may not be accurate in that respect.)

I remeasured this morning and the roost is 13"..odd measurement I know

its approximately the same level as the lip of the box area. The boxes will be attached to outside of the coop.

 

[QuiltinGramma]

ShockValue...congratulations on your babies.

OverEggstended & ochochicas...haven't started feeding my babies scratch, yet. They are 7.5 weeks old. Are they old enough to be supplemented with scratch? Do I need to put them on oyster shell when I do start feeding them scratch? Right now, I just get a handful of their baby starter pellets (or whatever it's called) and either toss it out for them or let them eat it out of my hands. I'll probably have to stop feeding them from my hand soon because they are pecking harder as they grow older.

Better go get lunch. Going to leave soon and hit the town to go Home Depot shopping.

 

[ochochicas]

Well what do you know..... Even after momma got confused (my fault, really) on which nest she was supposed to be on and let the clutch get cold twice, we have chicks hatching!

Last night we had 1 Marans out. Peeping but not too active.



This morning the first Marans was dead

But.... We added 1 more Marans which was healthy and scared to death of the "HUGE HAND FROM THE SKY"/
1 Ameraucana just hatched and looking OK
1 Ameraucana egg pipped
1 Olive egger egg pipped

2 more Marans eggs dormant

My marans eggs always hatch a little bit later than the others. Best of luck to you!

 

[ochochicas]

ShockValue...congratulations on your babies.

OverEggstended & ochochicas...haven't started feeding my babies scratch, yet. They are 7.5 weeks old. Are they old enough to be supplemented with scratch? Do I need to put them on oyster shell when I do start feeding them scratch? Right now, I just get a handful of their baby starter pellets (or whatever it's called) and either toss it out for them or let them eat it out of my hands. I'll probably have to stop feeding them from my hand soon because they are pecking harder as they grow older.

Better go get lunch. Going to leave soon and hit the town to go Home Depot shopping.

I believe my bag of scratch says not to feed it to chicks. However, when I have a broody with chicks, those babies are out there eating scratch at two weeks old and no one is going to tell them otherwise. They don't get a lot, just a little bit.

Now I have some 9 week old chicks. For the first time ever, I have chicks that don't eat scratch. They peck at it, but don't eat it. Maybe when they get older they will see the other birds eating it and follow along. I'll be introducing them to the rest of the flock as soon as the weather is a bit better.

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

*Note to self*
Do not post outside this thread. You have now been completely ignored twice, once while asking a rather legitimate question... and now have been reminded why you moved 3000 miles away from Upstate NY where you were raised. Jeppers!


(Goes off to sit in a corner and lick her wounds)

I feel that way sometimes too. It used to get to me a lot and now I just take a mental note of who those uppity people are and ignore them. You can always message me

I'm always up for some chicken chat.

It should be far enough away so their droppings do not land in the nest box.
Chickens also turn around in the night, and make alot of poo, so guesstimate from your bird's bum to their feet....in both directions, forward & back, otherwise therir tails get munched, especially the cockerels.
Mine are about 18" from the wall, the poop trays are that width, twice, as shown here:


Nests are below.
NOTE: If you have heavy breeds, make sure the roost to floor distance is not too great, or they can injure their feet when dropping to the floor, and get "Bumble foot"



Poop trays hold sand, and droppings can be collected with a cat pan spoon & collected in a 5-gal bucket.
Keeps things very nice & clean.

This is a really good idea that I'm going to have to keep in mind for my coop. We ditched the trailer idea and decided on a different idea that would be big enough for the 8 chickens. In the future we can pull it up onto a trailer when we move, and we can use it as a brooder for chicks. One of these days I'll draw it out and put it up here so everyone can see.

Side note; we have decided to sell two of the buff orpingtons and the two golden sex links, all pullets that I can tell. For anyone who might be interested.

 

[Shanny050]

It should be far enough away so their droppings do not land in the nest box. Chickens also turn around in the night, and make alot of poo, so guesstimate from your bird's bum to their feet....in both directions, forward & back, otherwise therir tails get munched, especially the cockerels. Mine are about 18" from the wall, the poop trays are that width, twice, as shown here: Nests are below. NOTE: If you have heavy breeds, make sure the roost to floor distance is not too great, or they can injure their feet when dropping to the floor, and get "Bumble foot" Poop trays hold sand, and droppings can be collected with a cat pan spoon & collected in a 5-gal bucket. Keeps things very nice & clean.

Thank you! I remeasured and they are 13" in front of and slightly above the lip of the nest boxes. They are easily moved so that may happen soon.

 

[Hinotori]

Hello all! Very new chicken mama here and I have a question. How far away should a roost be away from the nesting boxes? There are two in our coop, one of which is about 6-8" in front of the nest boxes. I'll include a picture where you can see the roost in front of the area where the boxes will be (external),
Sorry for the sideways picture!

My birds can walk from the nesting box right onto their roosts. I haven't had any issues. Only broodies give me trouble because they ALWAYS pick the favorite nest box.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
My broodies always get their chicks to try some scratch. They are usually eating a bit as soon as they are up and about with mama. I put out chick grit, but there is plenty of little rocks in our soil as well.

 

[Hinotori]

So 14 eggs cooking right now. My sweetest ameraucana went broody so she'll be getting these chicks. I'm collecting more eggs to add in and fill the bator after I do the first growth check. Those chicks can go to the EE that just went broody. Hopefully I'll have a couple good looking ameraucana to keep this year.