Last night the chicks gave me a fit as I attempted to move them back indoors from their small outdoor enclosure. First, the rooster escaped! He was so fast. As I reached under the wire cage he squeezed out and ran into the larger yard. I couldn't catch him, and didn't want to terrorize him too much. I grabbed the other chick from out of the cage and put her into the tub we've been using for their indoor living space. As I was trying to flush the little rooster out of the bushes, she hopped out of the tub. Two chicks running around the yard!
I hollared at Rouse, who was in the wood shop. He was wearing ear protection while operating the saw, so it took a few minutes to get his attention. He came to help. What a sight, the two of us chasing those two biddies around the yard! I managed to snag one, and got him in the tub - with a screen over the top this time. The other chick was very successfully evasive. And the sun was going down! It was time to get creative. Rouse went out to the barn and came back with the crab net. He used it to direct the chick back to the wire enclosure which I plopped down over her. Then he slid the net under the wire cage and caught her. I was able to get ahold of her, remove her from the net, and get her into the tub.
We decided it was time to move them to the chicken house and yard where they can run around safely. They still need to be separated from the big hens, though. We set up the wire cage inside the hen house with their waterer and feed dish. I ran an extension cord out to the barn to power a heat lamp during the night. Today I'll have to partition off a section of the "safe" zone so they can be in the chicken yard, but next to the mature hens. That way, they'll all get used to one another.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment