when to put chicks in the coop

[RonC]

I saw someone on BYC saying pullets get less skittish when they grow up, is that your experience? My girls are a little less tame since moving outside. They'll eat from my hand but don't want to be pet or jump on me anymore.

This is my second flock and they seem to go through stages. As my first ones matured they became more friendly. As small chicks they were pretty friendly and loved to sit in my lap. As teenagers they acted as such and were more independent. Once they reached laying age it was a night and day difference how friendly they got. Each has their own personality and from what I have heard breeds differ too. My first were Production Reds so most of them were very friendly when mature. One was a little shy but not too much so. This flock are different breeds and definitely act differently. We'll see when they mature how they act. I picked them because of their friendliness but had to have the Americana and she is living up to their reputation.

 

[RonC]

I put the girls in their coop today and they are loving the extra room! I closed them in, put down some paper towels over the sand in places (under their food/water/heat lamp area), and ordered the heating blanket that was linked earlier in the the thread. Tomorrow I'll build them a hardware cloth "cave", and cover it with a towel until the heating blanket arrives. I really love this idea; much better than the heat lamp, and seems safer,

I tried switching mine over to the cave and they didn't like it so don't put the lamp in storage yet. Put the cave in and turn it on and just turn the lamp off. Might even put the cave under the lamp so they make the connection with it being a warm spot. I made sure my lamp was secure by wrapping the cord around a 2x4 above where it was mounted then clamping it to take the strain off the cord. It wasn't going anywhere if the clamp came loose.

 

[Christabean]

This flock are different breeds and definitely act differently. We'll see when they mature how they act. I picked them because of their friendliness but had to have the Americana and she is living up to their reputation.

Yes, I also have a Buff Orpington & Silver-Laced Wyandotte, and also a Partridge Cochin & Cuckoo Maran. The Orpington is mellow and friendly, the Wyandotte is a little pushy, the Cochin is kinda skittish, and the Maran might be my favorite. Partly it may be she is a week older than the others, but she's so smart and alert. She's kinda wary of actual contact, but she's figured out I'm the food-bringer and gives me the eye even if she just sees me through the window of my house!

 

[AllynTal]

I put the girls in their coop today and they are loving the extra room! I closed them in, put down some paper towels over the sand in places (under their food/water/heat lamp area), and ordered the heating blanket that was linked earlier in the the thread. Tomorrow I'll build them a hardware cloth "cave", and cover it with a towel until the heating blanket arrives. I really love this idea; much better than the heat lamp, and seems safer, too.

When you make the cave, keep in mind that they get warm by pressing their backs against the warm ceiling. It works best if the heating pad is inside the cave as the cave's ceiling (not on top) and the ceiling has to be low enough that they can reach it to press their backs against it. However you construct the cave, make it adjustable as you'll probably want to raise the ceiling as they get bigger.

Calling it a cave can be a loose description. I don't make mine cave-shaped. I have a straight ceiling that slopes from front to back. (I lashed the pad to the underside of a hunk of wire shelving and covered it with a pillowcase. The ceiling is soft so they can really press up into it.) The chick can find its own perfect spot, either close to the back where the ceiling is low and it can hunker down and still press its back to the pad -- or closer to the front where the ceiling is higher where it might want to stand up and get warm.






When you first move them to the cave, take each one and hold it against the cave ceiling for a moment so it feels the warmth there and then put it down. Once the chicks identify where the warmth is, where the food is and where the water is, they're all set to go about doing their very important chick activities. The chick will go to the warmth when it needs to, so don't be concerned if the chicks are out and about and don't seem to want to spend time in the cave. You'll need to evaluate your setup if the chicks are outside the cave and huddling together because that means they're cold and aren't getting warm inside the cave.

Do get rid of that the medieval torture device (most people call it the brooder lamp).

 

[mypolitedog]

When you make the cave, keep in mind that they get warm by pressing their backs against the warm ceiling. It works best if the heating pad is inside the cave as the cave's ceiling (not on top) and the ceiling has to be low enough that they can reach it to press their backs against it. However you construct the cave, make it adjustable as you'll probably want to raise the ceiling as they get bigger. Calling it a cave can be a loose description. I don't make mine cave-shaped. I have a straight ceiling that slopes from front to back. (I lashed the pad to the underside of a hunk of wire shelving and covered it with a pillowcase. The ceiling is soft so they can really press up into it.) The chick can find its own perfect spot, either close to the back where the ceiling is low and it can hunker down and still press its back to the pad -- or closer to the front where the ceiling is higher where it might want to stand up and get warm. When you first move them to the cave, take each one and hold it against the cave ceiling for a moment so it feels the warmth there and then put it down. Once the chicks identify where the warmth is, where the food is and where the water is, they're all set to go about doing their very important chick activities. The chick will go to the warmth when it needs to, so don't be concerned if the chicks are out and about and don't seem to want to spend time in the cave. You'll need to evaluate your setup if the chicks are outside the cave and huddling together because that means they're cold and aren't getting warm inside the cave. Do get rid of that the medieval torture device (most people call it the brooder lamp).

Thank you for the detailed description! That helps a lot! By the way, what purpose do the styrofoam (looking) pieces at the front of the cave have?

 

[Auntie Moose]

I need some advice. What should I put on the bottom of my coop? Not IN the coop, but UNDER the coop. If you look at my profile picture you can see what I mean. Right now it is just in dirt, although I did throw a bag of soil in there to fill in some holes from a storm we had. I've heard many options for this area, like sand, litter, whatever. What is your preference and why?

 

[AllynTal]

Thank you for the detailed description! That helps a lot! By the way, what purpose do the styrofoam (looking) pieces at the front of the cave have?

They serve no purpose for the cave. That picture was taken with a previous batch of chicks that were brooded outside in one of those prefab dollhouse coops. Those blocks are the slots for the roost bars. I took the roost bars and the nest boxes out so I could use the whole space in the coop for the brooder area.



The white towel there at the bottom of the picture is the top front edge of the 'cave'. (to take that shot, I was leaning in over the top of the cave.)

Now, I'm doing a similar setup, just inside the big coop instead of the little prefab coop.

 

[AllynTal]

I need some advice. What should I put on the bottom of my coop? Not IN the coop, but UNDER the coop. If you look at my profile picture you can see what I mean. Right now it is just in dirt, although I did throw a bag of soil in there to fill in some holes from a storm we had. I've heard many options for this area, like sand, litter, whatever. What is your preference and why?

So far, I haven't felt the need to do anything underneath the coop. It's dirt. Because it's in deep shade, the dirt is cool, which they like to lay in because it gets really hot here. They'll wallow out hollows to lay in or dust bathe under there. I had plans originally to put sand underneath, but haven't really felt the need to.

 

[Christabean]

I need some advice.  What should I put on the bottom of my coop?  Not IN the coop, but UNDER the coop. If you look at my profile picture you can see what I mean. Right now it is just in dirt, although I did throw a bag of soil in there to fill in some holes from a storm we had.  I've heard many options for this area, like sand, litter, whatever. What is your preference and why?

I use sand and pavers with a little gravel and dirt, because I'm at capacity with 4 pullets in my "dollhouse" coop, and I don't want it to stay moist or get stinky on days they have to stay in there. Usually they have enough space in the run it's less of an issue, but I don't let them out when I'm not home yet because I need to build the run walls higher. My Maran has learned how to fly to the top of the gate to beg for treats! I am happy with sand, although the poop seems to disintegrate into it rather than staying whole like it did with pine shavings. The pine shavings just seem too easy to track around and look messy, and I worry about drainage after rain. My neighbor uses bark chips and her chickens don't smell. I don't think my chickens would allow sod to live, but that works so well people choose the "chicken tractor" option to achieve it.

 

[Auntie Moose]

I use sand and pavers with a little gravel and dirt, because I'm at capacity with 4 pullets in my "dollhouse" coop, and I don't want it to stay moist or get stinky on days they have to stay in there. Usually they have enough space in the run it's less of an issue, but I don't let them out when I'm not home yet because I need to build the run walls higher. My Maran has learned how to fly to the top of the gate to beg for treats! I am happy with sand, although the poop seems to disintegrate into it rather than staying whole like it did with pine shavings. The pine shavings just seem too easy to track around and look messy, and I worry about drainage after rain. My neighbor uses bark chips and her chickens don't smell. I don't think my chickens would allow sod to live, but that works so well people choose the "chicken tractor" option to achieve it.

Yeah, I don't have the option of tractoring. I have a very uneven yard with a steep drop off. How old are your chicks? I have three almost six week olds. One is an Iowa Blue, one an Australorp, and a chipmunk EE. They are my first chickens and I'm learning as I go! Thanks for your input.