Chick Questions

[Poultry Master1]

I am Going to order some SLW chicks in a few days and I have my brooder all set up however my brooder is a old wooden chest I had but I recently found out that the wood is cedar. Now I have heard that cedar bedding is bad for chicks so I am assuming as would be being housed in a cedar chest. Should I find something else to house the chicks in? Any advise is appreciated.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Best to forget the cedar chest. You don't say how many you'll be getting. You could use a cardboard box, appliance one is huge or even a tissue case box. Some use the plastic bins from Walmart/Target but what ever you decide to use I hope you got your coop ready. They do grow really fast! Assuming you got your heating for your brooder, heat lamp or MHP.

 

[Poultry Master1]

I will be getting six. Thank you for the advice I thought I might have to find something else.

 

[lazy gardener]

Go big, or go home!!!!!! Your brooder needs to be big enough to have heat in only one end, with the other end of the box being as cool as room temp. Even more helpful, since you don't have your chicks yet would be to consider using a heating pad to brood your chicks, and GET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! Check out this article. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

If you haven't already, check out the many articles on poultry care in the learning center.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Go big, or go home!!!!!! Your brooder needs to be big enough to have heat in only one end, with the other end of the box being as cool as room temp. Even more helpful, since you don't have your chicks yet would be to consider using a heating pad to brood your chicks, and GET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! Check out this article. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

If you haven't already, check out the many articles on poultry care in the learning center.

lazy gardener is right, since you haven't ordered your chicks you should read up & prepare before. MHP thread is worth reading (started by Blooie), I'll be getting my next batch in Sept and will be doing the MHP brooding. Will also be trying out the horizontal water nipple with this batch. Read up on FF too, you may want to try, I did the last 4 I had & love the benefits. Most important get that coop started, they grow faster than weeds.

 

[azygous]

Chicks have very delicate respiratory systems so using the cedar box is not a good option. But neither is using those dreadful plastic totes, which are mostly too small and don't allow for proper heat dissipation.

I also wrote a comprehensive article about all the many advantages of outdoor brooding which outweigh indoor brooding hands down. If you would just hold off getting your chicks until you've got a secure run built, your chicks would be far better off with more room and freedom and healthy advantages. You can even move the chicks into the run while finishing the coop.

You would need to make sure the run is covered and protected on the sides from drafts and weather, but cool ambient temps are especially good for chicks. When I brought home my latest batch of four chicks and installed them in my run, the daytime temp was 69F and they were just one day old but comfortably exploring their new world and only warming up under their heating pad cave occasionally.

My article is linked below my post and has pictures of the set-up.

 

[Poultry Master1]

I had thought of outdoor brooding but I live near woods and I know for a fact there are coyotes my neighbor has a pond right next to their house and they once had over 15 ducks along with 6+ geese but they didn't set up a fence around the pond and about a year later all the ducks had been eaten and they only had 3 geese left a few weeks later one was left then that one lasted a few more months until the pond froze over and their dog was able to catch it and kill it. So I will have to build a sturdy coop and I don't want to even put them in there until at least their size could discourage some smaller predators.

 

[Poultry Master1]

I have found a plastic tote that I think will suffice for the first few weeks will post pic later.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have found a plastic tote that I think will suffice for the first few weeks will post pic later.

Be very very careful using a plastic tote. They overheat easily, and the chicks need to get away from the heat to a room temp area, difficult to manage in a tote. Better an appliance box b/c of the larger size, IMO. Have you looked at brooding with a heating pad? Much safer IMO, especially with summer time temps. Won't overheat their environment as much as a heat lamp or light bulb.

 

[la dee da]

Because of the way my brooder (and house) is, I can't raise the brooder light as the chicks get older, so I bought a lamp dimmer for my brooder light. I've only been using it for a day, but so far it's working great! It really lets me fine tun the heat my light puts out. If you want to buy one, you should be able to find one for about $10. Just make sure you buy one that can handle the wattage of a brooder light. Mine was recommended for up 300w.

Keep in mind that your chicks might be able to fly out sooner than you want them to! You need to think about putting some kind of wire over the top, whatever you use as a brooder.