The chicks were a week old yesterday. In celebration, they all got coloured leg rings. I still don't know which ones are male and which are female, but it doesn't matter. The Snowballs are doing well.
Today after dinner, I found one of them had found its way out of the box that is on top of the workbench onto the floor. Okay. . . time to move them to a safer space.
Thinking quickly about WHERE they can go, I devised a plan. I cleaned out the area under the workbench, blocked the area off with scrap plywood and hey presto, we have a safe place for the chicks. The heat lamp is suspended for them. They have food and water and much more room!
The back half of the tool shed is now off limits for a few weeks.
When the chicks no longer need that heat lamp, they will move outside. I will make a week long introduction to the four remaining elder hens and then their life as full on chickens will have started.