Adding Teenagers to the Big Girl Flock
So your little floofs have grown up and are now big smelly teenagers and it is time to get them out of the house. I can’t help you with your human kids as it is hard to fledge them in a time of quarantine, but I can help with your chicken kids.
First thing you need is something that is functionally equivalent to a small or medium dog kennel. These are easy to find used on Craigslist, FB marketplace, etc. or new at the Feed Store or Amazon. Remove the plastic liner tray.
Turn the kennel on its back so that the opening is on the top. The large holes in the bottom are now on the side and will allow your teenagers to come and go, but will keep the big girls out.
Put the liner on the top of the kennel to keep poo from dropping in and to help retain a little heat.
Set your kennel up in the big girl coop, with food and water for the teenagers, and some bedding.
If you live somewhere cold, you may need a brooder plate on a thermocube for a few weeks. The thermocube looks like an outlet but it comes on at 35° and turns off at 45°.
In the late late afternoon, at the farthest corner of the run from Teenagerville, sprinkle meal worms or some other high-value treat for the Big Girls. While they are busy with that, pop the teenagers into their new home.
You will probably need to go out every night for about a week and roost train them: pick up the newbies and put them on the roost. This works best if it is dark.
Which Natural Farm Feed Product Should I Buy For My Chickens? Layer? Premium Layer? Broiler? Premium Broiler?
I have been contacted dozens of times in the last few weeks by people wanting pullets and laying hens, and with the price of eggs, I understand. The trick is, that here at Flower Feather Farm, available pullets are far and few between.
I’ve shared quite a few of my best tips and tricks for setting up a chick brooder, but what about the next step? When they are too little to just toss into the big girl coop, but too big stinky to stay in the house.
At this point, I put them in the big girl coop, with accomodations.
I house birds of different ages together regularly. Here is how I introduce them.
I kept hoping the warm weather would get here before avian bird flu did, but alas, both cool wet weather and bird flu are headed our way.
Medicated Chick Starter and Fermented Feed.