We decided to move the chicks into the chick brooder and away from the mama hens last night. Upon doing so we realized the chicks could fit through the wire on the brooder coop. We have used this coop before with other chicks and not experienced this problem. I think because the mama hens were still around, the chicks were a little more eager to escape than the chicks we previously bought from TSC.
Kev brought me some twine and I started to weave a temporary wall through the wire to keep the chicks from nosediving out. As the sun went down and everyone settled in for the night without escaping I thought we were okay…
When I went to check on the five chicks this morning, I only found four. Worried, but hopeful, I started toward the big coop where the mamas sleep.
At some point during the night, a baby had wiggled it’s was through my twine wall and found it’s way, all the way across the yard, to the big coop, and under a mama hen. I was relieved to say the least, but this also meant finding a better solution than twine first thing this morning.
Kev found some spare half inch hardware cloth for me in the shed. Using wire cutters, a staple gun, and a few zip ties, I reinforced the bottom layer of the run area and coop door. Seems to be working so far!
My hope is that the mama hens will go back to laying eggs and foraging the yard soon, but for now they seem content hanging out by the brooder.
