Chickens

These are the children's chickens. We bought 24, but I didnt watch the girl closely as she loaded the box. She wrote my order on box top, loaded in little chickens then charged me. Well so I ended up with 20. 4 chickens short.... Of the 20, 6 were guineas but one has died. They are eating from 2 old cat feeder bottoms and one small box.


The kids care for them almost completely, I taught them how to load them up into the small cage you see at far right of photo, close it up, and then carry the coop out into driveway, sweep/clean floor in garage and put new old boxes, paper sacks or newspaper in bottom of the coop for warmth. Then they put them back in.



We were feeding them in this proper hanging chicken feeder, but they get stuck in it! They can get in, and cant seem to get back out! So they poop all in their food! This other way works better for cleanliness and each baby can get enough eating space.

The chicken coop is a temporary PVC and chicken wire coop, its roving so you are supposed to move it about. Its upside down right now, so the ceiling, chicken wire, is their floor. This isnt comfortable but the boxes make it fine to walk on and its easier to go into the coop this way, step over. When they can fly up a bit and are a bit bigger, they will go to a roving outside yard/house. Right now they need the heat lamp and the warm garage at night.

They literally drink a gallon of water a day, the kids check on it 3 x daily on avg, sometimes only 2 if busy or gone. But they keep them in water! They drink so much Tad found a 2nd waterer in the garden shed today and it is in there too just in case they drink so much they run out. The cat litter box was their idea for a "warm cozy snuggling home." The chickens agree and love it! They burrow in the thick wood chips in there and snuggle up in one heap and sleep. They wont use it if you put it directly under the heat lamp though.

The wood chips are amazing for absorbing, both odor and wetness. Sometimes they spill water and of course they pee/poop and its ick! Yes there is zuccini in there, or was. They ate it all! It was an overlarge one from the garden, they LOVE veggies. And fruit, the goats do also so any scraps are eaten. They dont eat the skins, but every other day the whole coop is cleaned out so the veggie skins dont get smelly or gross.

This is Tad and Nathalie's own project. They have to raise and care for these, they care for the 10 out in the big yard also. They teach them, they can pat their arm and the chickens will jump up. Tad is teaching his 2 roosters to sit on his shoulder when he pats it. They feed and clean them, and when the guinea died Tad disposed of it. I would have, but he said he would so I allowed him to. They do help care for the goats, a lot, but the chickens are their gig. When their chickens have chickens, they will raise them to sell and they have to cover their own feed and rent space from us and then they can sell their chickens.