How can I transition my girls to the coop?

[tpotts1984]

Hello! My friend told me this website is amazing for advice on rearing chicks/chickens, so I was hoping for some help on some key issues when bringing my girls home. Although there is plenty of guidance out there, some of it is a bit conflicting so I was hoping for some wisdom of experience

I'm bringing home 2 chicks from my schools recent hatchlings (9 hatched yesterday, and 1 today!). We have had to separate the 10th arrival, as the others were pecking her and she was bleeding a little. We think she is going to make it, and I am quite keen to take this little girl home as one of my two as I fear she will be attacked with the rest of the brood who are quite a bit bigger than her,and substantially stronger. Is this misguided?

If not, I thought maybe it best to introduce one of the smaller girl chicks back into her separate brooder once she is healed up, and observe to see if they get along? Then perhaps this would be the pair to bring home? (any advice welcome!)

They will be two weeks old when I bring them home, so I need to buy/make a brooder. I read 2 square feet each is a nice amount of space for the following 3ish weeks until they are old enough to start going in their coop & pen. Is this enough space, and how much heat should I be supplying for them in this period? (Is a 250w bulb suffice or should I get something that is a heat lamp?)

When the hens are home in these three weeks, I'd like to take them outside (I have boarded up all corners/gaps around the perimeter and wiill be supervising throughout!) if it is sunny, will they be ready?

I have a garden with bordering beds, one of which is in the shade under a tree (the ground is quite bare). I have read that shavings can get very dusty and this is unpleasant for the hens - and that coarse sand can be very pleasant for them as they can sort of dust bath in it (is that right?!) and also rake the poop out with a kitty scooper and hopefully dry it out for compost for the vegetable patches.  Is sand actually OK for 5-6 weeks+ chicks? Or should I start with shavings and change when they are fully grown or something like that?!

Thanks in advance for ALL and any advice that can be offered!
Sara

When she is healed up I would get her a friend that's a bit younger. A docile breed like orpingtons. I keep mine on large flake shavings. They love it. I also use a heat lamp just from your local farm supply. They are kept in a rabbit cage with towels wrapped around the outside. Just to keep drafts out. My girls are 7 weeks and are officially outside. It gets low 60s here at night. Three week old chicks should have around 80 degrees all day. Hope the little one gets better soon. Good luck.

 

[SaraNaomi]

Hey! The girls are doing well, i did take the small premature chick and another little one so they could be friends they are now 3 1/2 weeks old and really feathery! So lovely!

The smaller one who was a bit sickly at hatching has been sneezing a lot for the past few days. Her behaviour seems normal - she's eating, drinking, chirping, running and flapping around...... I'm a first timer though and a bit concerned that she hasn't stopped sneezing yet. Should I take her to the vet???

 

[Chickens-2016]

This is good to know, my chicks are about ready to go outside but I am afraid its too cold, California...53 degrees right now...

 

[MrsWoodfin]

Your instincts are good. Trust them. You really do not need a "brooder". It's one of those conventions that have become so entrenched people think it's been passed down from on high and it's the LAW. There are alternatives.

I went through many iterations of brooders, finally deciding to toss them all in favor of simply brooding in my run in a safe chick pen under the heating pad system rather than electric light. It's proven superior to indoor brooder under heat lamps in every way.

I raise my chicks on sand in the run. When my chicks graduate to the coop at five weeks, they have pine shavings in there. They do get dusty, but chicken dander renders everything dusty in time, and needs to be cleaned out and shavings replaced. The sand gets scooped as you would a cat box.

I wrote an article on outdoor brooding, complete with photos. You can find it by clicking on the second link below under "Articles".

I did the same thing. No problems with transitioning. Only thing I had to do was adapt their food and water to the run and out of the coop and instead of filling the coop with pine shavings I slowly remove it so it is only in the nesting boxes. I am also changing the ramp to make it easier than the current one which is more of a ladder style.

 

[Chickens-2016]

My chicks are about 6 weeks and I put them in their new home. I transition them in the mornings to the roost close the door for about an hour then just before I leave for work I open the door for the day. I noticed after 8pm or so the chicks seem to be chirping standing in the roost part of the coup. I think they were cold. I brought them in the house for the night. How are you or did you transition the chicks to their coup at night?

I feel bad that they are chirping so much around 8pm slight winds and around 63 degrees out...

Should I close the door at night and leave them in for the night? or are they too young to leave out there?

HELP...

thank you,
Debra

 

[Star627]

have a question maybe someone can help me with. I let my silkie sit on a clutch of eggs & she hatched 2 chicks. We ended up buying more chicks & put them with her. She now has 16 chicks & they are all about 6-7 weeks old. I've had the silkie & chicks together in a small kennel (like the kind you'd see a beagle in) and they are just about out of space. I have a larger coop with a larger run that I have 4 hens & a rooster in. My question is how do I integrate the babies with the older hens? Everyone says that the mama will protect the babies, but I'm worried that she has too many. I'm also worried about the fact that she has always been on the bottom of the pecking order with the other hens. Any advice? Also wanted to mention that the babies & the older flock have been able to see each other from about 5 feet away since day one. So they are familiar with each other.

 

[BruceAZ]

so i had to put them in the new coop myself for the first few days

the feeders are outside of the coop (no door) so they will get in and out on their own. no need to bring them in and out anymore.

it's a lot easier-- no need to wake up at 5:30 or 6AM to let them out anymore!

 

[Chickens-2016]

The chicks are finally staying outside now, whew...when it gets dark they go in automatically. They are really cute and good chicks.

So now I have another problem. How do I know when its too hot for them? It was 89 degrees today, I took out a big umbrella to shade them, wet a towel and out it around their coup.
Also, I think I am going to need a bigger coup eventually...do chickens need lots of room or should I let them go outside of their coup during the day?

Any thoughts on topics just mentioned?

Debra

 

[azygous]

The chicks are finally staying outside now, whew...when it gets dark they go in automatically. They are really cute and good chicks.

So now I have another problem. How do I know when its too hot for them? It was 89 degrees today, I took out a big umbrella to shade them, wet a towel and out it around their coup.
Also, I think I am going to need a bigger coup eventually...do chickens need lots of room or should I let them go outside of their coup during the day?

Any thoughts on topics just mentioned?

Debra

You will know when your chickens are too hot when you see them perching with their wings held out from their bodies and their beaks open, panting. If you have a sand or dirt run, it helps to dampen it and the evaporation will reduce the air temp a good ten degrees.

There is are contradictions in your post. You ask if you can let them out of the coop during the day. You certainly do not want to coop up chickens in heat. They need to have shade and breezes. I put a fan in the coop at night during hot weather. You must mean free-ranging, and yes, that's a very good way to help them beat the heat because they will find shade and damp dirt to dig themselves into which acts as a heat exchange to pull out the excess heat from their bodies.

 

[Werforpsu]

have a question maybe someone can help me with. I let my silkie sit on a clutch of eggs & she hatched 2 chicks. We ended up buying more chicks & put them with her. She now has 16 chicks & they are all about 6-7 weeks old. I've had the silkie & chicks together in a small kennel (like the kind you'd see a beagle in) and they are just about out of space. I have a larger coop with a larger run that I have 4 hens & a rooster in. My question is how do I integrate the babies with the older hens? Everyone says that the mama will protect the babies, but I'm worried that she has too many. I'm also worried about the fact that she has always been on the bottom of the pecking order with the other hens. Any advice? Also wanted to mention that the babies & the older flock have been able to see each other from about 5 feet away since day one. So they are familiar with each other.

I haven't done this (because I am still on my first batch of chickens) but I keep reading about the play pen method where you put your chicks in the big coop and separated from the others (like in a dog crate) for a few days. Then you give them an opening from their 'play pen' to the coop/run that they can fit through but the large chickens can't that way, they can run away and hide if need be.

Obviously, I'm not an expert so do your own research, but this seems like a stress free and promising way of doing this.