Oh yeah - the CAT. Forgot about the cat by the time I got to the end of the chickie cuteness! Is it Luna? Oh she's just waiting ever so patiently.That cat tho...
Hers is the same heater, they keep it low so they can cuddle under it, like they would mama. The room my granddaughter usually has hers in will get even colder than yours so she really has to watch temps close, but she has not lost a chick.Ah ok I thought you were asking was it a different kind.
Are you saying she has a brooder but has it raised up high? the point of those ones is that the chicks can actually touch the heated part if they want to. We start ours very low and move it up gradually as they grow.
I'm a believer in keeping things as natural for them as I can, given the circumstances, so I don't do any heat lamps or gradients no matter what the conditions are. The brooder is plenty warm, and they learn very quickly (matter of minutes) how to get back there for heat when they need it. I find this setup encourages robust and curious chicks, they venture out to explore and then run back to 'mama' when they want to warm up.
As you noticed, they already spend most of their time in the unheated part, at about a week and a half old. The room they're in is about 18C (cold enough that I get chilly if I sit too long) but they are perfectly comfortable with it. In fact I ran a heater a couple of times to make it warmer for me, and they flopped down and spread out their wings like they were too warm.
(Just sharing info - there are as many ways of doing this as there are chicken keepers, so no offence intended.)
This is Elma, she's the youngest and bright as a button! (Also my puppy kitten ) she's learned already that if she sits quietly she can stay and watch them but if she gets off the chair she has to go out into the gardenOh yeah - the CAT. Forgot about the cat by the time I got to the end of the chickie cuteness! Is it Luna? Oh she's just waiting ever so patiently.
I didn't get it on video, but not long after this she took a flying jump at the greenhouse roof, went splat, and finished by sliding down the glass like something out of a cartoon...Poor Elma's going to wear herself out.
Did you end up incubating another round, since you got so few to hatch this time? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I don't remember seeing it if you did.I've spent the last two days trying to distract myself and we had started collecting fresh eggs for a new attempt.
Oh - yes actually we're going to start some more on Friday, we've been collecting them for a little while now. I think the humidity was the biggest problem so I'm going to try a new trick that I've only read about; using sandpaper on a small patch at one end of the egg to help it lose water during incubation. This particular breed has very dark eggs, and because of the layers of pigment they're less porous than average. Hopefully this will improve the hatch rate for the next lot!Did you end up incubating another round, since you got so few to hatch this time? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I don't remember seeing it if you did.
It's a complicated process involving putting the chicks into an IKEA box (sortera I think it's called) and then going out, into the greenhouse and closing the door before opening the box lid! If she can't see or hear them she's less bothered about following me inHow do you keep her out when you go in yourself?
She was disgusted with me the following day when I finally let her into the greenhouse - she had to check behind every plant in case there were chicks hiding there!
I see you speak cat!I can just imagine the glares! You tricked me! I can still smell them. Where are they? You are so mean!
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