New to chickens, have a couple questions. Cornish X

[TylerWaugh]

I'm looking at raising some Cornish x Rock chicken and I have a couple questions.

1. These chicks grow alot faster but I'm wondering if they mature faster? Meaning are they able to be removed from a brooder earlier? Or do they stay the same amount of time as a normal breed?

2.36x20x12" how many chicks could stay in here until they are old enough to remove from brooder? I don't want my animals crowded.

3. What are your opinions on a reptile heat pad instead of a light? It is temperature controlled and I will pay lots of attention to Temps.

 

[Catfish267]

1. Their feathers grow at the same rate as a normal chick but their body grows faster. More mass means more insulation which ends up making you warmer. So yes you could probably put them out a little earlier than other chicks.

2. 3 feet by 2 feet is not very big for a brooder, I would say no more than a dozen chicks

3. Well it will get pooped on a lot and might be to hot/cold for the chicks. A chick can adjust its distance from a light but not from a heat pad. I would use a light. I acctually use a regular 100 watt lightbulb.

 

[TylerWaugh]

How big of a brooder would I need for say 50 chicks? I'll stick with a light.

 

[lazy gardener]

Absolute minimum of 50 square feet... if you're brooding them until they're 4 - 5 weeks. The more crowded they are, the harder it will be to keep that brooder clean, and the more issues you'll have with odor.

 

[TylerWaugh]

so for brooding it's pretty much 1 Sq ft minimum per chick?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I start chicks in a 2' x 4' stock tank with a hardware cloth cover; about eight sq. ft. 25 chicks max, and they are moved to a much larger place at about 15 to 20 days of age. Either the hoop coop, 8' x 10', or the coop annex, 8' x'10'. Cornishx chicks handle less heat sooner because of their huge body mass, but are very inactive, eat like crazy, and poop HUGE amounts. Cleaning is an issue, which is why my hoop coop gets moved every day or so to fresh grass. Personally, I much prefer the freedom ranger chicks from Penn. Slower growing, but they act like normal chickens, don't have the joint issues, and don't drop dead of heart failure if butchering is delayed an extra week. Mary

 

[TylerWaugh]

Thanks for all the help guys, i think i'm gonna do a 40" x 40" brooder and get 10 - 15 chicks at a time and once the one batch is ready to leave the brooder ill have more to replace them. id rather have a long process with un-crowded chicks than a quick process with stressed out chicks that cant walk around.

Also i have one of these from raising day old kittens and was wondering if it would work as a brooder? then i could have two brooders going at once, idk about the dimensions but ill check. id rather use something i already have than spend money on something.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=mesh...Waterproof-Portable%2Fdp%2FB00BRTAG48;300;300

it has a floor that is removable so i could bring them outside to get them used to the grass in an environment they are used to a couple days before they are transferred to a coop or would that stress them to much? would it make sense to just move them without bringing them out in the brooder first?

sorry for so many questions i'm a noob and want to give my animals the best lives.