Brooder within coop already housing adult flock?

[sahmhomesteader]

I picked up my 12 chickies today I currently have 6 hens occupying a 12 by 12 coop in our barn. Right now my brooder is in a closed off utility room in the house. I was planning to leave it there for only a day or two. Would it be okay to move my brooder into the big coop in a couple of days? The brooder is a 45 gallon rubbermaid tub so it is very deep, and I could put chicken wire over top...I was just leary about putting the brooder out in the open in our barn. We have had a raccoon trying to get in for days and do have a trap set up. We also house a stray cat in our barn that keeps away unwanted rodents, but she doesn't bother my hens.

 

[Judy]

The barn is fine, and inside the coop is fine -- but chicken wire will not stop a raccoon.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

The barn is fine, and inside the coop is fine -- but chicken wire will not stop a raccoon.

Well so far when the raccoon has gotten in to the barn it has been more interested in the cat food. But I just wanted to make sure that having my chicks in a brooder within the larger coop wouldn't be a problem with diseases etc. I can rig it up to keep it safe from coons. Thanks!

 

[amenfarm]

Every new chicken I get goes through a six week quarantine period, if they are hatched at home then in coop brooding is fine for me. Chicken wire is for use between pens of other chickens only,too light to stop a pred.raccoons are just as happy to eat off what they can pull through the wire. Your cat is safe around chickens, do not trust it alone with chicks. Remember the chicks need 1/4 of a foot of space now, then they go up to a 1/2 foot then 1 foot etc. so the will grow out of the rubber made containter in about 2 weeks? depending on breed size.

 

[Klutch]

First thing pen up the cat and put the cat food in the trap (raccoon) I have to agree about chicken,wire for being only for chickens not raccoons. The chicken wire is like dental floss for them.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

Every new chicken I get goes through a six week quarantine period, if they are hatched at home then in coop brooding is fine for me. Chicken wire is for use between pens of other chickens only,too light to stop a pred.raccoons are just as happy to eat off what they can pull through the wire. Your cat is safe around chickens, do not trust it alone with chicks. Remember the chicks need 1/4 of a foot of space now, then they go up to a 1/2 foot then 1 foot etc. so the will grow out of the rubber made containter in about 2 weeks? depending on breed size.

Very imformative! Our current coop is pretty much the corner of the barn framed out with chicken wire about 10ft high surrounding. Hardware cloth was too expensive for us at the time.

Hmm...looks like I need to be thinking about a temporary place for them for 2 weeks out. But, what would be the difference in being in a container in the current coop and being in the barn beside the coop? It is all completely ventilated so they would all be breathing the same stuff...

 

[amenfarm]

It's your call, mine will not be in breathing distance of the coop,until six weeks. Even a vaccinated chick has sicken a flock. I'm moving my big girls into the q-pen and moving the chicks in from the garage when they out grow the temporary brooder,maybe three weeks. We also found hardware cloth expensive. So, we use two inch by one inch welded wire fencing,up to a 36inch board-then my dh backed the wire with the cloth just along the bottom half of our open style coop.. That way everything smaller than a Bear is kept out.

 

[amenfarm]

It's your call, mine will not be in breathing distance of the coop,untill six weeks. Even a vaccinated chick has sicken a flock. I'm moving my big girls into the q-pen and moving the chicks

 

[sahmhomesteader]

It's your call, mine will not be in breathing distance of the coop,until six weeks. Even a vaccinated chick has sicken a flock. I'm moving my big girls into the q-pen and moving the chicks in from the garage when they out grow the temporary brooder,maybe three weeks. We also found hardware cloth expensive. So, we use two inch by one inch welded wire fencing,up to a 36inch board-then my dh backed the wire with the cloth just along the bottom half of our open style coop.. That way everything smaller than a Bear is kept out.

Gotcha. And I am totally new to this whole world. Where could I get welded wire fencing? This is the first I am hearing about that.

And that makes sense! By the way I wasn't being sarcastic, I was really asking lol. So in other words, I can't out my new chicks in the barn at all since they will be able to breathe the same air? We only have the house and the barn...so I have to keep them in my house?

 

[sahmhomesteader]

Gotcha. And I am totally new to this whole world. Where could I get welded wire fencing? This is the first I am hearing about that.

And that makes sense! By the way I wasn't being sarcastic, I was really asking lol. So in other words, I can't out my new chicks in the barn at all since they will be able to breathe the same air? We only have the house and the barn...so I have to keep them in my house?

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