First timer has some questions

[Madddawg]

( I cheated and copied from my new member thread..Shhhh)
Hi everyone. After thinking about it off and on for years I decided to take the plunge and get some chickens. I asked my 8 YR old son one night if we got some chickens, would he take care of them and he could have the money from the eggs. He said "he would." I said "as soon as he stops taking care of them, guess whats for supper" ( he knew I was kidding)
So its done, The next week we went to Rural King And got 4 Golden Laced Wyandottes and 4 Barred Rock chicks. 4 more Buff Orpingtons are planned for next week when they come in.

My first "stupid question" is will the eight I have now, that will be 2 to 3 weeks old be OK with 4 new chicks in brooder, that are days old? or do I need to set up a different one? Thanks.

I am sure over time I will have many more questions and now I have a place to ask. And Maybe help out some other "newbies" in the process get some answers that are probably obvious to most

 

[sourland]

Caught ya, cheater.

The older chicks will pick on and trample the new chicks so initially they should be kept separately . Once the smaller chicks are a couple of weeks old you might try adding the older chicks to their brooder one at a time over a period of time - days not hours. Such a staggered integration MIGHT work. If not integrate the two flocks once they are all the same size. Good luck.

 

[Madddawg]

Thanks
I figured that's what I would have to do. I have read and heard of grown chickens doing that, I didn't know if the little ones had that mindset yet. Darn it that means another feeder and waterer. Hmm I have seen homemade ones (feeders and waterers for grown chickens) not pullets. Any suggestions on that? I can probably figure something out but if someone could save a few of my brain cells that would be nice cause I seem to be in short supply of them lately...

I just burnt up a few cells on the feeder. The PVC pipe feeder I have seen on here, I can do that with what I have on hand. I have the pipe and a 8" Heavy plastic plate' that I can make work just as good as if not better then the store bought "egg carton" type of feeder.

 

[lazy gardener]

I would divide that brooder in half, if it is big enough that you have at least 1 s.f./bird, You'll probably need to play around with the light to be sure you have more heat on the little's side. (You may even need 2 heat sources for a while. That way they can have a divider between them, but still have the "illusion" of hunkering down together under the heat. Once the littles are settled and up and running around well, you can start with supervised play dates by putting one of the bigs in with the littles. Be sure they have plenty of goodies to play with when you do that. Perhaps a nice big chunk of sod. After you've rotated all of the bigs in with the littles a few times, you can work towards getting that divider out of there.

 

[azygous]

A divided brooder is simple to do. I tape two cardboard boxes together, cut a pass-through out of the common wall, and fasten a window screen over the hole. The chicks can all interact without hurting each other.

You can make do with two 100 watt incandescent bulbs at different heights. You will need two feeders, too, as well as two water bottles. Don't worry, they'll probably come in handy later on. Mine have all served multi purposes.

After the newest ones are a couple weeks old, you might be able to take down the screen so they can be together. Two weeks isn't such a huge difference.

By the way, try creating a brooder with a side access instead of just putting it on the floor and reaching down into the box. Chicks have a predator fear instinct of things diving at them from the sky, and chicks raised in a brooder on a table where they can see all of you really makes a difference in how trusting and tame they will be.

 

[lazy gardener]

I found an old fashioned window screen option at Lowes or Home Depot which would be a fantastic brooder divider. (if you don't want to take the time to cobble your own.) It's designed to be expandable so it could easily fit any sized brooder with straight sides. Beware, it has wood framing, so you'll have to be sure it's not too close to the brooder lamp(s)

 

[Madddawg]

My brooder right now is Large tote box



The heat lamp is a food service warmer with a 250wt light in on a thermostatic outlet, with the sensor inserted into box



I have another tote box, a little smaller, that I can make into a brooder. I have a Regular heat lamp I can use. I can make a feeder Now I just have to look around on haw to build a water,

 

[21hens-incharge]

Question....
What is the purpose of the thermostatic outlet?

 

[Madddawg]

Its what I use in my greenhouse to control a exhaust fan. Its an outlet that sends power to what ever is plugged into it at any set temperature

This is what I got. It will tell you better then I can explain it.
http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Heating-C...23320060&sr=8-2&keywords=thermostatic+outlets

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ok that makes sense now. I had never seen one like that. The only ones I had seen come on at like 35 degrees and go off at about 50 degrees. Yours makes complete sense now.