What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

Help me brainstorm. This is my "see/don't touch" set up for the chicks. I hoped to get them out for a field trip this week but it's been overcast, windy and chance of rain. So today is not the day.

Getting them in there won't be hard. They're in the garage and I can grab them from the brooder easily and put them in a cat carrier. But getting them back is making me nervous. Im so worried about an escapee outside. Any ideas on how to safely maneuver? The only thing I can come up with is using our fishing landing net. Not pleasant but at least they'd be secured safely for me to put them back in the cat carrier.

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Some of my integration pens have the top access like that and similar size. I have them inside the runs so if a baby escapes they're still contained. But I just reach in from above and pick them up that way. Just move slowly and take your time about it and they stay calm better. Good luck with it!

 

[Smokerbill]

My chickens got the knack of the horizontal nipple waterers but they sure waste a lot of water using them. The 2 gallon water bucket in their night run was down to only about 1/2 gallon of water left this morning. Typically 2 gallons lasts for 4 or 5 days.

And it seems they have a hard time quenching their thirst with the nipple waterers. They seem to be pecking on them constantly. With the cups they take a few drinks and their thirst is slaked for quite a while.

So.... I'm going to put one of the auto filling cups on each water bucket in addition to the horizontal nipples. They'll have easy access to water in the cups until they freeze, then have the nipples for backup.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

My chickens got the knack of the horizontal nipple waterers but they sure waste a lot of water using them. The 2 gallon water bucket in their night run was down to only about 1/2 gallon of water left this morning. Typically 2 gallons lasts for 4 or 5 days.

And it seems they have a hard time quenching their thirst with the nipple waterers. They seem to be pecking on them constantly. With the cups they take a few drinks and their thirst is slaked for quite a while.

So.... I'm going to put one of the auto filling cups on each water bucket in addition to the horizontal nipples. They'll have easy access to water in the cups until they freeze, then have the nipples for backup.

I’ve never tried the cups. So they get dirty/clogged?

 

[ForFlocksSake]

Some of my integration pens have the top access like that and similar size. I have them inside the runs so if a baby escapes they're still contained. But I just reach in from above and pick them up that way. Just move slowly and take your time about it and they stay calm better. Good luck with it!

I wish I could put them in the run but I just picture the big girls pooping all over the top. Wondering if I can put a tarp over it and do it that way.

I can’t imagine a scenario where these chicks are calm. They run panicked at the very site of me.

 

[Smokerbill]

I’ve never tried the cups. So they get dirty/clogged?

Mine have never gotten clogged up, but they get a little dirty inside. Easy to clean if they're mounted on 2 or 5 gallon buckets. They might get clogged if the water in the bucket is dirty, but I keep my buckets pretty clean inside.

I just wipe the dirt in the cups loose with my fingertip, then pick up the bucket by the handle and rotate it a few times to sling out the dirty water. I usually clean them like that every couple days.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

Mine have never gotten clogged up, but they get a little dirty inside. Easy to clean if they're mounted on 2 or 5 gallon buckets. They might get clogged if the water in the bucket is dirty, but I keep my buckets pretty clean inside.

I just wipe the dirt in the cups loose with my fingertip, then pick up the bucket by the handle and rotate it a few times to sling out the dirty water. I usually clean them like that every couple days.

I may swap the nipples for cups in the summertime then. I do worry about them staying hydrated in the extreme heat we get here. seems like an easy swap on my 5 gallon buckets.

 

[Nomadicus]

We just cleaned poopy butts on almost the entire hatch of our last setting. Had to soak them little pasty butts in warm water before they could be cleaned. I'm always afraid of pulling skin when trying to clean them up. By now they have settled down and have compared notes with each other as to who had the worst experience getting cleaned up.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

We just cleaned poopy butts on almost the entire hatch of our last setting. Had to soak them little pasty butts in warm water before they could be cleaned. I'm always afraid of pulling skin when trying to clean them up. By now they have settled down and have compared notes with each other as to who had the worst experience getting cleaned up.

I worry about that too. I think I accidentally hurt one of mine a few days ago. She had a tiny bit of blood on her vent but the poop was so hard and glued on. Thankfully it looked fine the next day. They're so delicate its scary!

 

[fuzzi]

The most important thing I'll be doing shortly is taking all the babes in the brooder to a warm bath to soften up their pasty butts and then use the blow dryer on them. Water is not treated with ASV. We didn't give them the electrolytes and they still have the worst case of pasty butt I have ever seen.

When my Dominiques got pasty butt someone here on BYC suggested getting more fluids into the chicks by making a mash with their crumbles and water. I followed the suggestion, and the chicks didn't have pasty butt again.

 

[fuzzi]

I wish I could put them in the run but I just picture the big girls pooping all over the top. Wondering if I can put a tarp over it and do it that way.

I can’t imagine a scenario where these chicks are calm. They run panicked at the very site of me.

That's what I did with the Dominiques, but it was an old plastic tablecloth I used on top of the dog crate brooder.

The brooder was inside the hoop coop. If they escaped they faced the wrath of the older Sussex chicks!