I'm worried about my chicks

[Deleted]

I'm probably being an overprotective mama-hen, but we're having a pretty nasty blizzard and I'm worried about my little girls. They're OK right now, but the temps are dropping and it's very windy (40-60mph) with lots of very wet snow. Right now it's 65 degrees in their pen about a foot away from the heat lamp. They seem to be perfectly comfortable, spread out and peeping. But we're supposed to get a lot more snow (4 to 6 inches), and increasing winds, and I'm afraid we're going to lose the electricity. The only place I can put them in the house is inside my single shower stall. The house is too small to have working doors, we had to remove them all, so all we have are open doorways. And five cats. I'd like to just bring them in and put them by the woodstove in a box, but that's out of the question.

We're supposed to be having this blizzard through tomorrow night, so I guess I have a bunch more worrying to do... sigh...

~Lannie

[Deleted]

Wow Lannie! A blizzard? Where in SD are you? It's sunny and warm here.

Anyway, if you are really concerned then by all means bring them in and put them in the shower stall. Do you by any chance have a dog crate/kennel you could put them in so they can be near the stove? How old are your chicks?

If you are concerned about the electricity going out go get them and bring them in even if they are kept in the shower they will be warmer than in an unheated coop if the electricity goes out.

[Deleted]

Yup, a blizzard. Yesterday it was 75.

We DO have a dog crate. The bars are too far apart to keep the chicks inside (they're 2 weeks old), but we could tape some cardboard around it or something. Gosh, I don't know if that would work if the cats really wanted to get in there... they could shred the cardboard pretty easily, and I can't throw the cats outside in this weather. I'll see if I can make the crate work and if not, I guess it's the shower stall for them.

~Lannie

[Deleted]

OK, well, we did lose the power about 10 minutes after that last post. I taped together some cardboard boxes to surround the dog crate with, put some towels on the bottom, put the feeder and waterer in there, and dumped the chicks in. After only 15 or 20 minutes (the time it took me to get the crate ready for them), they were all huddled in a pile, very quiet. I thought they were just sleeping because it was dark, but they weren't very lively when I started scooping them up to bring them in the house, so I think they were just VERY cold. Once I got them in the house in front of the woodstove, they perked up some. I set a turned-on flashlight on top of the crate so they'd wake up and eat and drink and they finally did. Then I slept on the couch to guard them from the cats. They slept through the night but woke me up at 4:45 am, which was about the same time the power came back on. I tried to go back to sleep, but they were ready to rock and roll, so I got up and started coffee (which was fortunate, because the power kept going on and off for several hours...) At least I got the coffee made during the first "on" period, so I had something to help me wake up. I didn't go to sleep until well after midnight last night, just because I was scared. The wind was incredible. Rich thinks the sustained winds were at least 60 mph, with higher gusts. There was a lot of creaking and banging noises, which I don't do well with. I kept expecting the roof to blow off!

Anyway, the girls are fine, and the power's been on steady now for several hours, so they're back out in their brooder. I still have the crate in the living room, just in case, but I think we're over the worst of the weather.

Thanks for that idea, Marchwind, it worked out really well. Much better than sticking them in that cold shower stall. Our only heat is the big honkin' woodstove, and when the power's out, the blower fan doesn't work, so the only room that really stays warm is the living room. The bathroom was definitely chilly! I should have thought of the dog crate idea myself, but when I panic, my brain goes on vacation. Thanks again!

~Lannie

[Deleted]

Lannie I'm so glad that worked for you. I have several crates of different sizes just in case I have a sick chicken or goose or some other critter. I look for them at garage sales.

My oldest son was supposed to go to Montana on a rock climbing trip and it got canceled because of the snow. We are still warm here, a little cooler than we had been but still t-shirt weather. Finally had a little rain this morning and it looks gray out now. I'm hoping we get a lot more rain.

Keep those babies warm, pretty soon they'll be feathered out and running around on their own.

[Deleted]

Well, they have WING feathers! I'm beginning to wonder if my 3-foot cardboard surround is high enough to contain them. This morning, while they were still in the house, one of them flapped up to sit on top of the water fount, and another one eyed the bars for a few minutes then tried to fly up to the top of the crate and grab on. She wasn't successful, but she tried! They're almost too big to grab one in each hand now, especially if they're squirmy.

Which reminds me, it's time for me to go check on them again. The power's still on (OBviously!), but it's kinda cold outside, and if they look like they're chilled, I'll bring them in again for one more night.

(I wish you guys could have seen Rich this morning, standing over the chicks and baby-talking to them! LOL! Big tough guy!)

~Lannie

[bergere]

Sorry I missed your Post Lannie, but glad to hear all went well.

You will know if your wee ones can fly.. is when you find them perched all over the living room. ;D

My DH is the same way.. he really did not want me to put the feather out D'Uccles out, as he liked them in the house.
However I could not stand all the dust, so out in the hen house they went.

[Deleted]

That's funny, Bergere, last night I had a dream that when I went into their room, they were all over the floor, and I was having to be careful not to step on any. That dream might come true!

This morning I noticed a few poops in the feeder (it's one of the big ones that you fill from the top and the feed comes out the bottom), so some of them are perching up on the edge of that, and from there, it's a simple hop to get over the cardboard. Argh! I wouldn't worry, except if they get OUT of their playpen, they don't have food, water, or heat. And we're having more snow. Yep, it looks like about 4" on the ground so far and it's still coming down thick. It's not a blizzard like last time, just snowfall, and wet at that, so it won't last long, but cold nonetheless.

I guess I'd better go out and check on them again. Just in case.

Oh! This morning I noticed some of them are getting patches of feathers on their backs. All of them have nice fully-feathered wings now, but about half of them now have feathers on their backs as well. It's so cool to see how they develop and change colors. I've never had chicks before so this is all new and interesting to me! Their permanent feathers are so pretty - white with black speckles. ;D

~Lannie