Bigger brooder
Man, these meat chicks grow fast!!! You can almost see them getting bigger!
When I got them they fit comfortably in the little box-brooder I had made for them… well, four days later they’d already outgrown it and I had to make them a larger one. I could have gone to Petsmart and bought a rabbit hutch or dog kennel or something, but do I ever take the easy (or pretty) way out?
This will do for now – a wide drawer lined with a trash bag and surrounded with chicken wire. Ghetto-tacular, but perfectly functional. (To give myself some credit, this was actually Josh’s idea. I was leaving for Petsmart when he suggested it.) They’ve been living in here happily for over a week now!
As long as no one comes over, I don’t need to be embarrassed. Right?
The plastic partition in the middle helps block drafts and reflect heat from the lamp at night. The chicks can freely run around the sides to the other half. They seem to be enjoying the extra room, but they don’t use it much. They generally stick together and just stand and look around – they’re not active birds at all.
Well, I only have to put up with it for one or two more weeks before they’re ready to go outside onto pasture. Please, weather, cooperate with me here.
February 25th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
I can really see the difference in size from the last chicken post. Hurray for Josh and his ideas. Good luck with Mother Nature