Raising Chicks

No, I'm not talking about daughters.  I don't happen to have any of those.  The chicks I'm talking about grow up to be chickens (hopefully hens).  We recently raised our third batch of chicks, and I have to say this one has gone pretty smoothly so far.  This is partially due to the fact that we built a new brooder to help contain the chicks during their first month (pictured left).  We've used altered dog kennels and plastic bins in the past, but this made it easier to care for the chicks and less messy in the room.  Though the brooder was built to house chicks, I have to say after moving the chicks and a thorough cleaning, it makes a great place to let tomatoes ripen before usage/freezing.  No matter what's inside, it's great at keeping the cats out!

One thing we realized after moving the chicks into the brooder was that the temperature tended to get a little high.  We added extra ventilation by adding an optional screened area for the lid.  This helped us regulate temperatures perfectly.  In the picture above, the hinged flap on top is raised, making room for the ventilation screen.

When the chicks were between four and five weeks old, we set up their outdoor enclosure and used a cat carrier to move them to it.  Since they now have an outside run, we had to teach them to sleep in their house by locking them in the cat carrier at night for the first few nights.  When they are old enough to join the flock (young chickens can be killed by older flock members), they will be allowed to free range with the others and will share their coop at night.  Pictured right is the outdoor run for the chicks with Eagle (our rooster) and an Easter Egger in the background (new chicks are intimidated by their proximity and are inside their coop).  You can see how the chicks are being safely introduced to the old flock, by living with a fence between them for a few months.