Month: April 2019

So wet.

On By CarynIn chickens

All the digging and moving dirt yesterday was well worth it. We are getting drenched. The spot right in front of the door is dry and mostly solid. Our neighbors graciously brought us cardboard so we can walk down the hill to the coop instead of slide.

I think I still need to raise the level of the ground under the porch; even though I tamped down the dirt, it still isn’t as solid as it will be after a couple soak and dry sessions and lots of foot traffic. Here is a picture a few hours later.

The water is flowing along all the trenches around the runs, so we may have to adjust our plan and fill all of them with rock instead of dirt.

The chicks are doing OK. The temperature in their brooder is staying above 50, but the low is forecast to be 41. I put a blanket around the heater end of the coop (the EcoGlow is radiant heat and the blanket is at least 12″ away), which helps some. I’m keeping a close eye on the temperature. I may need to figure out an additional heat source.

Here is a video of one chick trying out perching on the stick!

Batten down the hatches

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop, Uncategorized

or the hardware cloth, as you wish. I finished installing the hardware cloth around the base of the coop and used batten boards to secure them.

I then backfilled with dirt most of the way around. Some of the areas we are going to line with landscaping fabric and fill with rock to help divert water flow. I also filled the front area with more dirt trying to make it a little higher than the surrounding terrain so the rain runoff goes somewhere other than by the door. We’ll see soon if it works.

The chicks are still growing like little weeds. Today I tried getting them to eat out of my hand. No problem.

We are having a cold front and I am concerned about the temperature of the coop. They have two Ecoglow heaters and both the food and water are nearby. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get too cold.

Proof of life

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop
Installing hardware cloth around the coop

I spent most of the day installing hardware cloth around the base of the coop (in the trenches I dug earlier) to keep out digging predators. I checked under the coop with a flashlight to make sure I wasn’t locking anything in, and then Sophie casually sauntered in and refused to come out. Cat. I left the space under the front door open as I completed the rest of the perimeter so she could escape.

Proof of life. I did not trap the cat under the coop, hurray!

Once she did leave, I was able to quickly finish the install, then photographed her outside so the kids would believe me that I didn’t trap her underneath, as much as she wanted to be there! I used staples just to get the wire in place, and tomorrow I will install batten boards, since the staples won’t hold long term. I still need to put the wire around the steps too, but at least the cats shouldn’t be able to get underneath anymore.

The chicks are growing rapidly! We did a weight on everyone tonight, and some have over doubled their weight in less than a week. Tigger put on the most weight, gaining 39g. Schmoo only gained 13g. We have also put one bottle of water with only apple cider vinegar and the other with the electrolyte and probiotic solution (it really helps if I read the directions, sheesh). I raised both brooders to the second level and they seem to be OK with it. Here is a video:

Shake those tail feathers!

On By CarynIn chickens

During the morning health check it took me a minute to figure out what was going on; the chicks had something new on their derrière: tail feathers! And their wings are longer! I guess I know where all that feed is going. Some must be going into the chicks even though it seems like it is all on the floor.

Tail feathers!

I am also working with our dog on understanding that these chicks are family, not toys. So he has been coming out to the coop with me and staying in down position while I do the health checks. Mostly the down position, he does have to be reminded.

But Mom…

I am also giving each chick a bit of a cuddle during health checks to make them more comfortable. It seemed to work, each one settled down when I held them today. However Izzy, our inside cat, was not happy. She was not in the coop, but she can see the coop from her catio and apparently hear me cooing to the chicks, and was highly offended. She meowed, loudly, until we came out.

So you can see them shake their tail feathers, and ring the bell, here is a video.

Learning curves

On By CarynIn chickens

I’m definitely learning as we go with these chicks. Before we had chicks, I did my research, visited chickens, and consulted with my folks, but there are still aspects that I didn’t really get until we had chicks. Like how much they eat. And that it is easier to put a divider in the brooder rather than remove all the chicks for health checks. It is definitely an experience!

Dividing the coop makes health checks less stressful

And experimenting to see what the chicks like is also interesting. We have two brooders and I set up the second one at a different height (at the suggestion of my folks). They seem to like it. We’ll see where they curl up to sleep. (Maybe they will all just sleep on top like this one!)

Brooders at two different heights

And if you are carrying two gallons of water down to the coop in the dark, turning on the flashlight on your phone and tucking the phone in the top of your jeans in front of your belly button makes a pretty good area light.

I took video of the chicks sleeping. No one is sleeping on top. A few are under the higher brooder. Most are squeezed against the far wall. Their fancy LED nightlight broke and I had to find a substitute. Between that and the confusion of two brooders instead of one seemed to throw them into a tizzy. Bedtime was harder today, basically. There will probably be a higher incidence of pasty butt tomorrow. Sigh.