The Chick Invasion!
Two weeks ago I doubled my flock by purchasing clearance chicks for a $1 a piece at Tractor Supply. Some of my chickens are getting older, and I needed to have younger chickens to keep up with the growing farm-fresh egg demand.
Because of the colder temperatures of fall and the very chilly nights, I didn't feel comfortable leaving the chicks inside my baby coop. My baby coop is better for chicks hatched in the spring when the weather is getting warmer. I decided to do renovation number 100 to my chicken coop. Every time I have to change the coop, I promise my husband saying, "This is the absolutely the LAST time we change the coop, hunny!" He just rolls his eyes and shakes his head...but he still loves me, haha.
Most of the time when I need something new for my growing flock, I find what I need on Facebook Marketplace. And most of the time I find something useful on the Marketplace, it's free because no one else wants it. The Marketplace has made me into a collector of odd, unusual, and often ugly things that the chickens appreciate. Things like old swings, rusty wheelbarrows, and playhouses on their last leg are all free finds that have become treasures inside my coop.
My newest addition is a homemade brooder box made out of an old cargo crate. It's huge! The kids and I had a hard time fitting it inside the truck, but we did it! I'm so thankful for my muscular teenage sons who tolerate my obsession over free junk.
But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because the brooder box has worked out perfectly for my 40 chicks. It fits inside my roosting section of the coop, which half of my girls roost on at night. Because every chicken is 107 degrees in temperature, having 30 full grown hens in an enclosed space with pine shavings and accumulating poop piles makes for a toasty place for fluffy chicks to stay warm and get big.
Chicks grow very quickly during their first month of life. I noticed the chicks loosing their fuzz and growing feathers this week, so I decided to open the brooder box to let them explore the coop. Some of them haven't felt comfortable leaving the brooder box, but I added a very small door in the bottom corner. The brave chicks can now leave the safety of their home and explore the roosting section of the coop.
The older hens have very mixed feelings with all these little rugrats walking around their nesting boxes. My egg supply has gotten dangerously low again. My hens are constantly annoyed by the little bodies roaming around them while they are trying to lay their eggs. I can sympathize with my ladies because at one point of my life, I had three babies around me while I went to the bathroom. It's hard to get the job done with a bunch of peeping, climbing, and pecking.
To make up for the chick invasion, I opened the gates to our vegetable garden for a free buffet of rotten veggies covered in slimy worms....an absolute chicken heaven. I think I'm back to being the chickens' favorite farmer.
Thanks for reading my Country Squawk,
Kelly
Congratulations on the new additions to your flock.
To the chicken's favorite farmer...Well Done!