Our little ISA Brown chicks moved into some new deluxe accommodations in the coop yesterday, courtesy of a lot of hard work by George. The left side of the coop as you enter was already divided by a wall from the rest of the space, and has a door to contain the chickens in that side. We decided to replicate that on the right side, only in an improved fashion. Here’s the left side – there is a door on the front that swings open to the rear, and a small screen window to allow viewing and ventilation:
Here’s what we started with on the right hand side:
First, he added two 2×6’s that stretch across the coop front to back, as the base of the wall.
Then he added a plywood piece as the bottom of the wall, and as you can see, he had a very eager assistant standing by:
Then a top brace and door jamb were added:
And finally, a plywood wall, chicken wire screen window, and door were added to complete the project. It got a resounding thumbs-up from the peanut gallery:
More importantly, the little fuzzbutts love their new living quarters! They have space to run, and are even taking little flights of fancy around their new digs. We put in a couple of practice roosts for them under their heat lamp, and the little cutie heads were making full use of them at bedtime last night.
The really beautiful part of this construction is that we were able to recycle a bunch of lumber we had on hand, so there was no out-of-pocket expenses for that! We did have to buy the two hinges and barrel lock for the door, but those were of minimal cost.
I am hoping getting them out to the larger coop sooner than we did our first batch of chicks will benefit them. Our oldest chickens took some time to grow used to roosting, and although they are champs at it now, I think our inability to give them decent starter roosts, due to the space constraints in the brooder, probably stunted their development in that manner. Also, just the sheer space they have to spread out when they want to is a plus. Also, our oldest chickens are kind of scared of the outdoors, and although they are warming up to it, it should not have been the issue it has been for them. I am hoping that the ISA Brown chicks are conditioned to enjoy the outdoors due to earlier exposure. They are still enclosed in the coop, and won’t actually go outside for at least a couple of weeks until it warms up some more, and even then, it will be for limited durations, but it should help them to be so used to the sunshine, they won’t fear it as some flaming ball of doom coming to get them.
We’ll be keeping the chicks and the older chickens separate until the chicks are of sufficient size that we can start gradually mixing them in together. Our plan for the future is to convert the pavilion structure that currently has a fenced dog kennel into a large chicken house with a new yard. We just need to tear out the fencing, and add walls, a couple of windows, and a door. Eventually, everyone will be housed there.
So, you’re probably wonder what’s happening in our now-empty brooder cage, aren’t you? Well, it wasn’t empty for long. These little ladies are its new residents:
Two dozen Black Star (also known as Black Sex Links) chicks came home with us from Tractor Supply yesterday morning. This breed is a combination of Rhode Island Red and Barred Rock chickens, and is a prolific layer of brown eggs, like the ISA Browns. Both Black Stars and ISA Browns can be easily sexed based on their coloring, and this makes them popular hybrids, along with their ability to keep laying through heat and cold extremes. We have noticed that the Black Stars are not quite as timid as the ISA Browns, and it’s nice to be able to walk by the brooder and talk to them without everyone cowering in the corner. 🙂 It’s really interesting to see the personality differences amongst chicken breeds.
Within a few months, the egg output around here is going to be phenomenal, if all goes as planned. Watch for farm fresh eggs available from us in the near future!
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