Out to the big cage

At five weeks old, it is time for D’Artagnan and the 3 Musketeers to move outside to the big cage.  They have most of their adult feathers and the forecast is for a couple of mild nights.   They are getting a bit smelly to keep in the bathroom and I don’t want to put their brooder box in the feed shed with the rats.  Rats could get into this cage too, but the birds have more space to to flap out of reach. They look so tiny in there.  I will leave the brooder box in with them for a couple of days so they have something familiar.  With all the “prey” animals on the farm, I find it best to only change one thing at a time to keep stress at a minimum.

When the adults came for tea they could hear them cheeping and rushed round looking under rocks and logs trying to find them.  They are obviously much better parents than they are purported to be.