New Chicks

A few weeks ago we added 5 new chicks to our flock – 2 Americaunas and 3 barred rocks. 

When we first brought them home we put them in the blue rubbermaid tub (in the first picture). The problem is that they were messy – food, water and ickiness were rampant. We cleaned the box every day and Lauren worked on different ideas to keep the chicks from getting wet from their water container, but all to no avail. She spent a lot of time cleaning chicks.

We knew the chicks needed better housing but whooping cough was rampant in the house during this time so while we maintained the chicks blue abode, we tried to figure out another home for them…economically, of course.

My ingenious husband had a great idea of converting the original chicken coop he made (but we never used) into a brooder box for the chicks. This coop (see the second to last photo) was made out of a box that transported a fireplace to a new home in Lago Vista. Johnny had fixed it up with tin we found around the land and pieces of a torn down picket fence. Pretty clever, huh? He built it 4-5 years ago and it has sat empty ever since. We just didn’t know how many chickens it would hold. Fast forward several years and we ended up with a completely different chicken coop, leaving this one empty once again.

With a little hardware cloth, these chicks now have a new home until they are old enough to merge with the rest of the flock in the main chicken coop. 

We’re quite pleased with the end result and I think Matilda, Sh’Daisy, Shasta, Rosebud and Petunia are happy, too.