The Chickens Have left the Brooder

The Chicken Coop/Bunny Barn, or as my son calls it, CCU (Chicken Coop University) still needs it's finishing touches, a few inside wall coverings in the rabbit colonies, soffits and paint but the chicken area is functional and so we moved the chickens in yesterday.

There was some debate on how to move the chickens; I have 33 of the little suckers. We considered putting a bunch in a box at a time thus reducing the travel time. But I was worried they might get hurt and I have been warned over and over about what happens if a chicken bleeds - the others will kill it. So in the end, I picked up each one and transported it to its new digs. 33 trips up and down the stairs and across the yard in less than an hour. Why people willingly go on stairmasters, I'll never understand, my legs are sending about 100 watts of pain up to my brain with every heartbeat. Yet I'm glad I did it that way. First of all, I believe it was much safer for the chickens and secondly, it added a real personal touch. It was nice to hold each one and see it's individual reaction to the outside.

Catching the first few was pretty easy, small brooder, lots of chickens. Then the chickens started crowding into corners, out of reach. I tried putting some feed down to get them within arms reach. That worked a couple of times then the chickens figured it out and decided to go hungry instead of getting picked up. In the end, my son entered the brooder to hand them to me. The chickens made an awful fuss all the way up the stairs and through the kitchen. Some squawked, some squeaked, and I'm pretty sure a lot swore in chicken lingo. But as soon as we hit the outside, each one got quiet and started looking around interestedly. I couldn't resist the temptation to tell them, 'I told you so'. I always thought the buffs and chanteclers were pretty birds - well, as far as chickens go. But the chantecler's feathers just shone in the sunlight and they were stunning.

The CCU is 16 ft square; the two rabbit colonies in it are 5 x 8 ft each. They are in the northeast and southwest corners; the space between them is my storage area. So the chicken area is about 11 x 11, plenty of room for 33 chooks. We made a roosting area for them, simply a wide ladder-like contraption with three rungs on it to roost. A couple of the not so bright ones went to the end of the roost and used it as a slide. I hope they smarten up soon, dealing with splinters in chicken butts is something I'd like to pass on.

Anyhow, they're in and seem to be content. Tomorrow we're going to fence in a little area as a run for them and introduce them to the great outdoors; something I think every chicken should have a chance to explore.