Chicks at Our House

A few weeks ago we were fighting raccoons. When it became apparent that our flock's very existence was threatened (I'm talking flock extinction, not one or two losses to predators), we sat down and discussed things. We figured that in addition to patching up the old chicken house, we needed to build a new chicken house. So a new chicken house has gone up on the priority list. We juggle the priority list quite a bit.

We also either needed to order more chicks or invest in an incubator.

We started saving eggs and got a fairly inexpensive incubator. When it arrived, we had 18 eggs saved. Due to the reduction in our flock, that's all we could save in seven days. I've been told that eggs older than seven days can be incubated and hatched, but the viability drops quite a bit.

We have thirteen little raptors hanging out under a heat lamp in the chicken house now. Fourteen pipped but one only cracked the shell and then apparently suffocated before it could get out. That was sad. The others are all doing well.

Here they are on the fourth of July. They all hatched on the third and fourth.

Here's a view showing (sort of) their magnificent brooder box. They weren't "due" to hatch until the 5th, so when they began pipping on the 3rd it was quite a surprise. I hustled big time to get the brooder box done in time to move the chicks into it. It's about 3' x 4' and 15" high. It has 1/4 inch plywood sides, a 2x2 frame, and hardware cloth for the floor and hinged lid.

With our first batch of chicks we used a cardboard box in the bathroom, but this time I wanted to brood them out in the chicken house. I needed to make a sturdy brooder box for a couple of reasons.
1 - I'm concerned the larger chickens (all two of them) might peck the babies.
2 - We have packrats in the chicken house and I was concerned they might bother the babies.

So, the magnificent brooder box was built.