Moving Day for Chicks

Post date: Jun 04, 2016 7:23:2 PM

Last Sunday, we decided the chicks - pullets really - had nearly outgrown their incubator/brooder, and it was time to move them to their yard and new coop. We had built a small shed and put a perch in it, on the east end of the chicken yard, and fenced off half of the chicken yard to separate the old chickens from the new chickens - to prevent pecking and bullying. They can see each other so hopefully will get used to each other by the time the new chicks grew up to the same size. So when all was in order - shed and fencing done, yard fenced and gated, feeder and waterers installed - we caught the chicks in the brooder one by one, put them in a cat carrier, and took them down to the chicken yard. We released them in the shed, and I stayed out there with them for a while to see how they would adjust and to see if there were any last minute details to take care of.

At first, they stayed very quietly in the shed looking a bit anxious. After a while, anxiety began to give way to curiosity and they began to explore a little.

While I was there, a couple young chipmunks came into the chicken yard, on the old chicken part, to eat some scratch grain and drink some water. Very cute, and they don't eat much.

I love the way they flip their tails around. It must mean something.