HA has wished for chickens since before we started our search for a home. Today, she went to the big city and picked up a cardboard box with ten chicks. She brought it home, and we put it in a box I had prepared with a straw floor, a heat lamp, a temperature probe, and a Home Assistant automation to keep the chicks at a steady 88° Fahrenheit.
Our first challenge will be to keep them safe from Luna the Big Dog™, who has a strong prey drive and sees the little chicks as snacks. She’s smart, though, and will learn to leave them alone.
They’ll stay in the box for a few weeks until they’re big enough to get by in the new chicken run which is almost ready for habitation.
—2p