Getting about 24- 25 chicks!!!

[Semper]

Tomorrow my dad is getting baby chicks to add to our flock! I've raised up to 5 and 6 little babies at a time and now we are getting over 20!! how big of space do they need will they fit into a 100 gallon stock tank!! they are a few days old i believe. i have chick starter and little feeders and waters. we have a horse box thing for their water in the winter with a 16 by16 inch hole in it for a stock tank and if it fits in the coop we might use that.. dad doesnt want them in the house again as they smell. and garage is for the dogs.

our last batch of chicks are very friendly my large rooster is super friendly and loves people will run to me and fallow me around and walk around the roost/sand area while i work around the coop for food and attention. with that many chicks can i make them 'pets' or will it be too hard? what ages can they have stuff? like treats/grit/and such? what should their bedding be?

 

[azygous]

Ask your dad if he's willing to try something new. Something that will get the chicks integrated with the flock almost immediately, and make the transition to the coop a snap. And you won't have to worry about them outgrowing the stock tank.

It involves partitioning off a section of the coop or barn, wherever the chickens live. The bigger the better. Then rig up two heating pads, the kind that have no automatic shut off or a switch to make them remain on all the time, over a wire frame to form a "cave" about four inches high, allowing the heating pads to drape down on the sides for the chicks to snuggle against.

See "mama heating pad for the brooder" thread for complete details.

This system avoids heat lamps, a major fire hazard and makes over-heating a near impossibility. It also simulates a broody hen, and the chicks satisfy their own heat needs, then run around playing the rest of the time. No need to regulate the temperature in the rest of the space.

I wrote up my experiences for the thread about brooding my chicks in a pen right in the run near the older chickens, and they were integrated by the time they were three weeks old, using small portals from the chick pen into the rest of the run. I posted lots of pics.

Anyway, read through that thread, and see if you think you might be able to use this system with your new chicks. Blooie, the person who owns the thread, brooded her chicks in a temporary pen inside the coop with the adult chickens, so it's a very doable thing. It sure eliminates a lot of the hassle with confining brooders space problems associated with fast growing chicks, and keeps the mess confined to the coop.

 

[azygous]

My run is partitioned into several areas, one for the chicks to grow up in from day one until age three months, one for a crippled hen that everyone picks on, and the rest for the remainder of my 21 chickens. The blue boxy thing is my heating pad brooder that the chicks used for the first four weeks, then they moved into the coop located at the end of their pen.

In this pic, just left of the waterer is a wood square. That's one of the portals that I open up when the chicks are three weeks old so the chicks can explore the rest of the run and get back inside their pen without the adults following them in. There's one of those portals in every partition in the run so the chicks can't get trapped without an escape. They have access to the entire run after age three weeks, and at eight weeks, they still use their pen as a refuge from the adults. They have food in there so they always have plenty to eat without having to compete for it.

Your run could be modified by partitioning off a section for just the chicks. You'll need much more room than that brooder for two dozen chicks. It wouldn't be much better than the stock tanks after a couple weeks.

The advantage of raising the chicks right there in the run with the adults is that they are accepted into the flock immediately, since they grow up right alongside the adults. When it comes time for them to integrate with the adults, they are already members of the flock by proximity, and bullying will be minimal.

When I anticipated getting new chicks, I moved the previous batch, now grown, out of their coop and chick pen a few months before the chicks arrived so they wouldn't try to get back to what they have known as "home". You will need to be very careful when opening that brooder the older ones don't get in. Moving my youngest hens into the coop with the rest of the adult chickens required a bit of an adjustment, and I wanted that to be over with by the time the chicks came.

I encourage you and your dad to consider dismantling your brooder, using the space to create a grow-out pen. By using the heating pad system in a grow-pen, you really do not need a brooder. You could put up the partitions while the chicks are in the stock tank, and it wouldn't be too stressful on them to move them into their new pen when it's finished.

I promise your that you'll be really glad you made this change.

I told you it's a new-fangled approach to raising chicks. I, for one, will never go back to traditional brooders, especially those with a heat lamp. So far, everyone on BYC who has tried this system has vowed never to go back to the old way.

 

[GitaBooks]

How exciting!

When we got our 25 chicks (generally we got less than that) I put them in a pen about 4 ft long and 2-3 ft wide for a few days, to keep an eye on them. After they gained their strength and we set up the other pen, we moved them into the basement where their pen was around 9 ft long and 7 ft wide and had a sheet as flooring. I used some cardboard so they wouldn't be overwhelmed by the space, but that was removed pretty quickly.

Chickens do smell pretty bad, and they make a mess of the house. Its sort a rule now that chicks have to be raised outside.

I've found that chicks that are raised in larger groups don't tame as well, but I only raised one group that large and I didn't try that hard to tame them (they were meat birds). You can still try though, and I bet they could learn, they just might spook easier. Sitting with them, letting them rest on your hand, talking to them, and feeding them little treats will win them over. Try tucking some under your shirt, like a mother covering them with her feathers. This is less stressful then just holding them out in the open. Mine loved it!

As for treats, it really depends. I would wait a weak or so, just to make sure they have started off strong. Others start giving treats right away without any problems. Its up to you.

You can use wood chips, but as a first substrate I would suggest paper towels. They can't eat this, they can better see food on it, you can make sure their droppings are healthy, and they get a good grip on it.


Best of luck!

 

[Folly's place]

The stock tank will be fine for two to three weeks, then they'll need more space. I put shavings down, with paper towels on top for a day or two. No way should they be in the house for more than a couple of days, if that. Mess! Dust! Humidity! The top should be open to the air; I use a hardware cloth cover on my stock tank brooder. Pictures?! Mary

 

[Semper]

We have a brooder in the coop 2 story with a removable floor to make a large one right now for the three other chicks and Beebe. they are about 3 to 4 months old can they go out so that the babies can have the whole space? they have been in the brooder in the coop for a month and have been roaming with everyone during the day. ill look at the thread to see what we can do in the brooder. (its i think 2 feet by 4 feet maybe 5 feet) i can get pictures today of the brooder. can they go right into the brooder as long as they have heat source? or should they stay in a stock tank for a little bit? Beebe will be going in with them as she loves babies and is such a good mom as long as she stays a good mom.

 

[GitaBooks]

They could go straight into the brooder, but I would suggest letting them have a couple days in the stock tank, as pasty and shipping sickness are common in the first few days. This will help you keep a better eye on them.

I'm glad Beebe will be there for them! Chicks love having a mother-figure.

 

[Semper]

would they get shipping sickness if they are from a guy a few hours away and my dad is driving them?? is there any way they wont get pasty butt? Beebe loves her chicks im sure she will love having little ones that can actually be under her and lay on her without being the same size or bigger then her!!

 

[GitaBooks]

I think they should be fine if they weren't shipped.

 

[Semper]

I think they should be fine if they weren't shipped.

Yay just wanted to make sure they couldn't get it from that!