Condo expansion

I'm definitely beginning to get the idea that chickens are not so smart and that perhaps I should not get too attached to them. They have been roosting on the feeder a lot, so I thought it might be a good idea to get them something to roost on that didn't include pooping on their food. I got a nice stick from out of the garden and put it in and they freaked out. They all ran to the opposite side of the box as far away from the stick as possible. I left it in there for awhile thinking they just needed time to get used to it, but after half an hour they were still huddled in the corner, so I took it out.

Then I was outside with Milo and we saw some of these bugs that congregate in the spring as soon as it gets warm. So I took one in thinking the chicks might enjoy chasing it around a little and of course eating it. But when I put it in the brooder they just kind of looked at it and then walked away, no interest even when it started to crawl up the wall. My high hopes for them as buggers is fading somewhat. They took so well to the moths that I assumed all bugs were fair game. Hopefully they'll do something to keep the garden bugs under control when they older. Who knows maybe it has colouring to indicate that it tastes bad.

Today the chick condo got a big renovation, doubled in size. I hope they can afford the new mortgage. I put a door between the two boxes, so one area would be for sleeping and one for eating /drinking. We'll how that goes, they seem to be just congregating in the eating area. I also took the lid off the feeder since they were roosting on it and put that in the sleeping area. No traffic yet, but they re having a great time all standing in the food and kicking and eating, so what the heck a little variety in their lives is probably worth some lost food. I just think its a good idea to get them used to the idea of going into different areas since once they are outside they'll have to learn to go out and in and use the nest boxes.

Now the chicks have bloated crops. Not sure what or if I need to do about it. It might be that we were keeping the brooder too warm for them now that they are a little older and they weren't drinking enough water. I'll keep an eye on it and try a couple things that the websites suggest if it doesn't get better soon. They don't seem to be bother by it and they are still eating and drinking, so it's probably not life threatening. Most spots say they need more grit but I don't think the chicks are supposed to be eating anything but the chick food right now.

Almost everything in the grow room is doing great. The onions are a little confusing. They seems to be a little weak but are still popping up, so who knows. It's just not clear that they are worth the space and maybe we should just go to onion sets rather than seed.