This is our 1st year raising chickens. One of our girls (8 Buff Orpingtons) laid their 1st egg today. They are 20 weeks old this week. We are really excited!!
I was faced with the same dilemma as you. First time chicken tender, I did a lot of research. I came to the conclusion that if you brood indoors for 6-7 weeks, their immune system is developed enough to send them outside. There is no substitute for a clean, and dry environment when brooding...
I'm new to chickens. There is a small amount of fines in each bag of food. The chickens aren't eating it, but is there something I can do with it to feed it to them, or should they just be thrown away?
I think they say it's safe for up to 20 chicks, but that must be day old chicks!! I have 8 chicks, and by the time they were 4 weeks old, they barely fit under the plate. Worked out well though, they were ready to give up the heat plate anyway. I'm glad the heat plate worked out for you!!
I have that same model, and I could hold my fingers on the plate without issue. It was warm, but not hot. I was afraid that mine wasn't hot enough, but the chicks would huddle underneath of it and have thrived. I kept the heat plate at the height where the plate was at their back level. I...
1st time raising chickens, and I got 8 Buff Orpingtons. I got them because everything I read said that they were good chickens for the beginner to have. They are 5 weeks old now, and more active than I anticipated. They love to fly around the brooder. One almost flew out one day when I had...
I have an old driveway that is overgrown with grass. I'm thinking of placing my chicken run (10'x13') on top of where the road was. Do you see any problems with this. You wouldn't know there was a road underneath of the grass by looking at it. I see a couple of advantages for me. 1st, it...
Chickens love to roost, so I built mine a simple ladder type roost with two rungs. They love it, but they still love to roost on top of their heater plate and the food and waterer.
Our chicks are three weeks old. We have 8 Orpingtons and they are growing fast and very active. They are about to graduate to a larger feeder and waterer. They are knocking the little chick feeders around and they have knocked over the feeder. They are a rowdy bunch!! I built a perch for...
I've got my chicks in a brooder in the garage also using a heat plate. My temps in the garage are just slightly higher than yours, and they have a window directly above their brooder. I turn on the garage lights when I get up and turn it off when it gets light outside. I turn on the lights...
I also have my brooder in the garage. I didn't use a heat lamp, just the Brinsea heat plate similar to the one you are using. In addition to the daylight, I supplement their light for about 4 hrs in the evening by turning on the garage lights. It gets so dark so early in the winter, so they...
Thanks to those that helped me with making good brooder decisions. My chicks are now 2 weeks old and doing great!! They have really grown, and are very active running and flying around their brooder. They started perching on top of their Brinsea heat table, and on top of their food and...
I can't take credit for the brooder plan. I got it from UTube. I liked it because it solved the space issue many people mentioned, as well as the easy build, assemble, and limited storage space needed. I'll post the link again in case anyone wants to check it out further...