With nine rapidly growing chicks that have already bonded as a flock, we decided to move them all together into the larger pen. We knew that we needed at least 1 square foot per bird within the next two weeks. We have a "half" cage assembled that provides a little over 13 square feet, so that's the simple solution. We have it covered with old bed sheets to minimize drafts in our garage. We should not need to use a heater any more, but if it does start freezing we have it set up in a way that will allow for us to set that back up. We put both brooder warmers into the cage at different heights. A sheet for the floor to hold in the wood shavings and we have the food/water elevated to minimize shavings in those containers. So, yep, the next stage.
Since the wings are now feathers, they try to fly around from time to time. And there is enough space to allow them to practice without getting hurt. The beefyest of the Cornish Cross is quite the chunk already. I took a shot of him, next to one of the Rhode Island Reds, and well, yah.... look at the girth of his legs compared to the other. HA! I assume he is going to be a big boy.
We will try to keep them in this cage for about four weeks before putting them out in the coop. I can see no reason to separate the Reds from the Crosses, given that they seem comfortable and content to be together now. When we added the Crosses to the little Red flock, it immediately calmed the Reds down and they are less stressed with the added numbers. So it seems most logical to just keep them together, for now, until we need to take the Crosses for slaughter in a couple months.
One of the rodents out in the outdoor chicken pens got killed when it ran under the tractor tire. Talk about large. The tail was eight inches long and it weighed a little over five pounds. That's almost as much as our chickens weigh. It is twice the size as most of the little wild rabbits in our field. No wonder the poor chickens have been stressed out by these rodents! It's definitely time for outdoor pest control! We have tackled the rodents in the garage/porch areas, and now to get out the big traps. I might need to watch a few episodes of Mountain Men to figure out how to trap the big game!
For those that are wondering, the brooder pen is 3.5' by 3.75' by 4'h. We have two small brooder warmers in the pen set for two different heights, a long 18-inch feeder for up to 12 chicks, a half-gallon waterer, a light on a timer for 12 hours of light, plenty of wood shavings and DE sprinkled in to help minimize feather mites. We are on to the next stage of chick development. We use non-medicated Chick Start feed. The first two weeks, we grind up the chick feed into a fine mill so that they are able to get plenty without struggling to swallow the larger pieces. As their beaks get stronger, they can break it up, as needed. They should be strong enough now to handle the small crumbles.
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| New Brooder Cage |
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| Chicks are about the same size now |
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| The Reds are working on feathers |
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| Buddies |
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| Size Comparison |
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