Chikkinz, day 3
They're doing great so far. I check the water and food 2-3 times a day, check them all for general health and pastybutt (a real condition that can go real bad) in the mornings and evenings. So far they're eating and drinking like mad which is very good, and they seem to be doing great. It's the usual cycle of Eat All The Crumbles, Drink All The Water, Sleep Now!, repeat. The webcam is turning out to be a good idea as it's reassuring to check in on them from work.
We put a little 3D-printed multi-level roosting bar in there because, well, we're geeks. I don't expect them to use it until they're a week old or more, so it's mostly in the brooder box just so they'll get used to its presence. Much to my surprise one of them curiously hopped on and off it all her own midday today, and I caught it on the dropcam. :)
One thing I've read is that it's good to keep them lightly entertained by adding small things to their box over time, such as a small flat cardboard surface (or paper plate) they can scratch on. Therefore I found "Box!", a little 3"x3"x1.5" cardboard box, which I put in the shavings. In no time at all they were hopping up on it to see what it was. I put a big pinch of chick-crumbles (as they're still too young for even chick-scratch; that'll be next week) on it and they went absolutely nuts over it. Pecking away, scratching at it with their little feet, and playing who-is-queen-of-Box! and pushing each other off it. As it's only 1.5" high and surrounded by nice soft shavings, it wasn't a worrysome game. :) After 20 minutes of their playing and pecking I put Box! away and they flopped out to rest. Playing is hard work, evidently. Another ten minutes and they were back to their feeder/waterer/sleep cycle as normal.
I don't want to leave it in their cage so that it'll stay novel, and I don't want to leave piles of food in the cage as they'll poop in it and then try to eat it anyways, which can be bad. I also spent a few minutes and cleaned out all the shavings around the feeder (since they kick so much feed out) for similar reasons, replacing it with fresh and refilling the feeder while I was at it. Trying to be a good chick-parent and all.
We put a little 3D-printed multi-level roosting bar in there because, well, we're geeks. I don't expect them to use it until they're a week old or more, so it's mostly in the brooder box just so they'll get used to its presence. Much to my surprise one of them curiously hopped on and off it all her own midday today, and I caught it on the dropcam. :)
One thing I've read is that it's good to keep them lightly entertained by adding small things to their box over time, such as a small flat cardboard surface (or paper plate) they can scratch on. Therefore I found "Box!", a little 3"x3"x1.5" cardboard box, which I put in the shavings. In no time at all they were hopping up on it to see what it was. I put a big pinch of chick-crumbles (as they're still too young for even chick-scratch; that'll be next week) on it and they went absolutely nuts over it. Pecking away, scratching at it with their little feet, and playing who-is-queen-of-Box! and pushing each other off it. As it's only 1.5" high and surrounded by nice soft shavings, it wasn't a worrysome game. :) After 20 minutes of their playing and pecking I put Box! away and they flopped out to rest. Playing is hard work, evidently. Another ten minutes and they were back to their feeder/waterer/sleep cycle as normal.
I don't want to leave it in their cage so that it'll stay novel, and I don't want to leave piles of food in the cage as they'll poop in it and then try to eat it anyways, which can be bad. I also spent a few minutes and cleaned out all the shavings around the feeder (since they kick so much feed out) for similar reasons, replacing it with fresh and refilling the feeder while I was at it. Trying to be a good chick-parent and all.