Good afternoon. As our surprise baby chicks grow from young balls of fluff to teenage chicks, they are getting more and more rambunctious. One of the leghorns started wanting to roost so he/she would fly on top of the waterer. They all love to try to fly, run, and play. I decided they needed a perch, so my dad and I created them a small perch and they loved it!
But that is not enough. They need to start getting ready for the outside world, the grass and hunting for bugs. I saw a big one on Backyard Chickens, but we didn’t really want one that big. So my Dad made them a small outdoor play pen. It does not have a bottom so they can be in the grass and scratch around. Their waterer and a bucket are in there (the bucket is for them to hide in if they want), they are loving this too! I scattered some of their chick starter on the ground in the play pen so they could start learning where to look for some of their food. I had to put them back in their brooder though because it started to rain. They all seemed shocked by the rain, this was their first rain they ever really experienced.
In a month, I will move the teenage chicks out with the Rhode Island Red chickens. We will keep them in a separate pen and the coop is separated too. I believe they will be shocked by them too. We think one of the surprise chicks is a rooster because… early one morning dad was checking on all the chicks when he thought he heard a strange rooster call emanating from the teenage chick’s side of the garage. I can not tell which is a rooster yet but i will be able to soon. They don’t need a heat lamp any more unless it is a cold night. If one of them finds something interesting he/she picks it up and the other two will chase it until they either lose it or if it is food, eat it. They love to cuddle with each other when they are tired
They are very tricky sometimes. For instance… As I got their waterer out to clean and refill, one of the leghorns hopped up on a support beam in the top of the brooder. This is not the first time this has happened. The last time I handled it wrong and the two leghorns got out! Thankfully me and mom caught them before they ran off. After learning my lesson last time, this time I just slowly put the top to the brooder back on and he/she just hopped back down in the brooder.
I’ll give you an update on the baby chicks this week too. See ya’ soon!
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I really like the run for your teenage chicks your dad made. This is a great way to get them used to being on the ground and learning to fend some for themselves. Does the run area have a good amount of grit type substance? If not, you can sprinkle the ground with some fine grit for chicks this age. I sprinkle it on the food in their brooder for my chicks. I do it like I would salt my food which is very lightly. Just a little but a least once a week. I want to be sure they can properly digest the food they are eating. You are doing a great job with your chicks. I really liked reading that you had built them a roost. This is important since it is generally their natural instinct to roost. I look forward to your reading your next post. God Bless.
Thank You Miss Carolyn! And I do not have any grit in the run, I will pick some up tomorrow though. I knew we had to use grit when we gave them types of greens but I forgot. Thanks again!
Oh I remember when we would add in new chicks to the group. It’s a challenge but so much fun! We had to move over 200 birds once…1-2 at a time depending on who was carrying them. It was hot and muggy and provided some of the funniest memories. Good luck! 😉
~Honey
Thank you Miss Honey! I am very curious about how the Rhode Island Reds will treat the Teenage Chicks when we move them into the pen, I hope they will be treated well. Oh and by the way I named the Red Sex Link Honey because of the color of her feathers. What a great name you have! I’ll post again soon!
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
Sounds like you are having fun with those babies. I always start my chicks in the house and when they become teenage chicks they do get wild and make a huge mess. Love your play pen. Have a great week! Wanda