What I quickly learned is that chicks seem to multiply. I had a coop built last fall - it is 8 by 8 with 7 nest boxes in it. We added a 10 by 8 run to it, they will free range once they are bigger and then be in the coop at night. I started with 5 RIR, 5 Boff Orps and 5 Black Sex Links - I also added 2 ducks of unknown breed, they are brown and fuzzy. I first used a smaller stock tank for a brooder, by the time they all hit 4 weeks it became evident that was not big enough and man do ducks ever make a mess so we went up to a much larger tank. Well this weekend we purchased another brooder off of LSN - UMMMM for the ducks. Well we made the mistake of stopping at a farm/garden supply we had never been to - they had just gotten some new chicks so we added 5 Welsummers. So they went into the new/used brooder and they looked so lonely, just 5 chicks in a huge 6 foot brooder. Still the problem of what to do with these ducks -well hubby took a kiddie pool I had used to whelp puppies in and a section of 36" 1x2 fencing and made a ring of fencing which fits down into the pool and it is perfect for the ducks! But because the 5 little Welsummers looked so lonely we went back and added 5 Barred Rocks. We are now up to 25 chicks, 2 ducks and have 20 pheasants and 10 Lavender Orps coming plus my incubator will be here Monday and I will pick up 100 quail eggs are start them. Oh yea the 15 Turkeys will be here in June.
