Where am i ever going to put these meaties?

[Chick_a_dee]

We ordered i think 25 meat chicks due to come may 14th and i have no where to put them! i need some help asap! i can split them up int to smaller tote box brooders and have them in the same room as the ducklings & ee's for now, or what? and then when they're too old to stay inside (and too smelly) what will i do with them until 'off with her head' time? we have a lot of predators and only one chicken house and i cant very well subject my poor layers to these meaties. i was thinking on a hardware cloth chicken tractor for them, one end tin roofed in (i have some from the barn) which i could roll over a sheet of hardware cloth on the ground in the layer run with two lines of electric on the outside of the layer run, and the avian netting up top... do you think this would be sufficient to keep the nasties out? or what about running it over a bit of land with buried patio stones and wire..? i could peg down the tractor so nothing could pick it up.

helppppppp

 

[BirdBrain]

I promise you will not keep them in the house long. They grow at an incredible rate and get smelly even faster. Do you have a garage? Go to walmart or an appliance store and get a couple of large boxes. Refridge boxes work great. Using duct tape or packaging tape to combine them into a large pen area. Get some heavy plastic and tape it to the bottom of your marvelous creation. On top of the plastic pour in bedding. Add a light, feeder, watered and chicks. It works great. Ask me how I know.

they also produce an enormous amount of dust.

 

[jaku]

Yup, large cardboard boxes are great brooders. As for later, check out some regular chicken tractors. I live in the middle of a couple hundred acres of woods, and nothing has gotten past mine yet and it has no bottom.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
i do have a garage but it has a dirt floor

i was thinking of putting them at one end of the front porch cause its concrete and nothing could dig in.

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
i do have a garage but it has a dirt floor

i was thinking of putting them at one end of the front porch cause its concrete and nothing could dig in.

How about a kidde pool with chicken wire around to keep them from hopping out? It makes an excellent draft sheild and has a bottom to keep moisture out. Will

 

[Want2BFarmer]

I got my first batch of 20 this year and I started them in a large dog crate with cardboard around it. I cleaned the pen ever other day for a week and a half and then I finally decided they had to go outside (Farm animals live outside). I put them in my shed and the first night they where out it was in 20's and I was scared that the light was going to either make them too hot or would not warm them enough. They did fine and I kept them in the shed another 3 weeks until they moved to the tractor. They don't need much room .... all they do is sleep, eat, and drink......and poop

 

[Riparian]

tractor dealerships that have on site repair shops will often have wooden shipping crates laying around outside that are just going to rot, or be thrown away.

I have two that I use for brooders. But be advised, meatbirds outgrow the brooder real fast.

If i need temporary chicken pens i use straw bales, inside a barn or shed. This trick wont really work outside.

I would build your tractor asap. These birds grow really fast and will outgrow small spaces before you know it. If you havent built anything before your order comes, I would cancel it until you are ready.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Our co-op insists we pay for half the order before it comes..anyway I was figuring I could throw together a tractor (just something short and long and wide with probably 2x2 or 2x3s one end would be covered in tin roofing, the other would just be open with hardware cloth .... Thats probably a 2 day job for me, it was where am i going to store then at night that was bothering me LOL. Next year we'll be more prepared, we're planning on building a kind of pavillion for them for next season.

 

[obsessed]

I used the kiddie pool also with a large box around it to keep in the heat.


Wilheveland - How many do you have in there? How long do you keep them in there?

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
A good size pool with 25 might buy you 2 weeks maybe. I think I got a week out of this with 50+ meaties and 12 Australorpes.After that I spread shavings on the floor and give them the whole 8x8 shed. Will