The count down to chicks begins. I made a count down calender for the girls so they can tell how many more days we have left. This way I can stop answering the same question over and over again. "How many more days until we get the chicks?"
I have been working on the brooder all week. I used an old bunny cage that was left by the old owners of our house. It was a little rusted and dirty but a good sanding and scrubbing and a few cans of Galvanized steel Rustolium (sp) it looks brand new. You can't see it in the picture but I also put clear plastic on all the sides. I left the blue protective film on the plastic in the back for some color.
I asked other chicken parents what they used for bedding in their brooders and got a lot of different answers. Most said that pine shavings, straw or hay work good. I unfortunately can't use any of it due to horrible allergies. So I decided to use CareFresh Pet Bedding. It is free of all pine and ceder oils and has very little dust. It is on the expensive side but I'll deal with it. For the first day or so of having the chicks I put paper towels down on top of the bedding. I've heard that it will keep their attention on their food and not pecking at the bedding. I'll have to see how will it goes.
The food dish and water dish are all ready to go. I put them on top of a box lid that I duct taped so that they will be harder to tip over. I am using a pool thermometer that I checked against two different digital thermostats and it's right on with them. I also put a baby toy in there to see if the chicks will be interested in it. I'm still working on what to do with the heat lamp. I think I am going to try to hang it from the ceiling. The pole I attached to the brooder isn't tall enough. When I tested it the temp got to over 110 degrees. Way to hot. So I'll have to keep working at it.
So just five days left. I'll go to the post office on Monday to tell them about the chicks that are on their way. I'll get as many pictures and video of our first moments as I can. Stay tuned. :)
I have been working on the brooder all week. I used an old bunny cage that was left by the old owners of our house. It was a little rusted and dirty but a good sanding and scrubbing and a few cans of Galvanized steel Rustolium (sp) it looks brand new. You can't see it in the picture but I also put clear plastic on all the sides. I left the blue protective film on the plastic in the back for some color.
I asked other chicken parents what they used for bedding in their brooders and got a lot of different answers. Most said that pine shavings, straw or hay work good. I unfortunately can't use any of it due to horrible allergies. So I decided to use CareFresh Pet Bedding. It is free of all pine and ceder oils and has very little dust. It is on the expensive side but I'll deal with it. For the first day or so of having the chicks I put paper towels down on top of the bedding. I've heard that it will keep their attention on their food and not pecking at the bedding. I'll have to see how will it goes.
The food dish and water dish are all ready to go. I put them on top of a box lid that I duct taped so that they will be harder to tip over. I am using a pool thermometer that I checked against two different digital thermostats and it's right on with them. I also put a baby toy in there to see if the chicks will be interested in it. I'm still working on what to do with the heat lamp. I think I am going to try to hang it from the ceiling. The pole I attached to the brooder isn't tall enough. When I tested it the temp got to over 110 degrees. Way to hot. So I'll have to keep working at it.
So just five days left. I'll go to the post office on Monday to tell them about the chicks that are on their way. I'll get as many pictures and video of our first moments as I can. Stay tuned. :)
