The chicks pecked their way out of the shells and moved cheerfully into a chick pen.
Jenny set up a brooder heater. Last year we used a traditional heat lamp and has success with it. This year we are using a flat panel heater to lower the risk of fire and burns on little fingers. It is working well, with one problem.
The problem is the chicks want to roost. They specifically want to roost on top of the heater, freely depositing chicken manure across the surface of it. Our Good&Cheap(TM) solution is a foil pan fitted to the top. It blocks the surface access without causing any new problems.
One surprise was how many different times and places the chicks managed to pry under the foil pan. We would hear distress cheeping and discover one roosting in the foil pan oven on top of the heater. The fourth iteration of the foil pan finally blocked all of these intrepid adventures.
There was another surprise this weekend. A new kitten joined the workshop. We’re calling her Blue Belle, and more on her in the next post.
