I would like to say a great big HELLO to Mrs. Keenan’s class who has been following the adventures of Tilly’s Nest in their classroom!
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We need more room to grow! |
The chickens and Dolly are quickly out growing their space! They were born almost 2 weeks ago. They still had the old nesting box in the brooder. They also continued to make a complete mess of the newspaper lining that I placed underneath of the pine shavings. I contributed it to Dolly as she scratched and looked for goodies to share with the chicks. I found myself constantly cleaning out the feeder and the waterer of pine shavings. It was time to make some changes! I removed everything from the brooder and started from scratch.
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Don’t mind if I do, I like this new waterer! |
I elevated the waterer off the ground to prevent the pine shavings from being inadvertently scratched into the waterer. Soon, I realized that it was too high for Percy Peepers to reach. They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions. So, I remembered that I had created a device that could hang off the nesting boxes for Dolly when she was ill last Winter. Voila! It worked. I made it out of a coat hanger and a small stainless steel serving dish. Hung from the wire wall, it is just the right height for Percy! Plus his brothers and sisters enjoy drinking from it too.
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Food to the left, chicken play area to the right |
I also removed the nesting box to open up more room. I decided to place all of the food in the chillier end of the brooder. Dolly’s food is now out of reach from the chicks. I have it perched upon a brick. The chicks cannot eat Dolly’s food because it contains too much calcium. The calcium could adversely affect the growth of the chicks’ bones. I placed the chick food in the middle and the elevated waterer at the top. Finally, I added 8″ cardboard walls around the perimeter of the brooder. As the current walls are hardware cloth, I thought by doing so, I could prevent the shavings from flying everywhere as the chickens scratch.
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View from above |
It has been about 17 hours since I changed the brooder yesterday afternoon. The chicken family seems happy. The chicken family seems to really be enjoying the added room in their brooder. Soon I will search outside for a perch that I can make so the chicks can practice roosting. The waterers and the food dishes seem relatively shaving free and I am hearing lots of pleasure trills! Life is good at Camp Broody.
2 thoughts on “Room to Grow”
Oooh! I'm so glad life i good at camp broody.
I loved making a little roost for my girls when they were babies.
Can't wait to hear how your summer progresses… might have to come visit!
You are welcome to come anytime:) My in-laws are in Western Mass. I too would love to meet your flock sometime 🙂 Maybe someday…