7 week update. The chicks spend more time every day mixing with the hens.
6 week update.
At 6 weeks the chicks have been using their panic doors to mix in with the hens. They get chased and pecked. But no harm. They are fast. A couple nights ago they started sleeping in the coop. Not on the roost. Rather on a log inside the coop. I originally put it there to help our brama get up to the roost. I just lowered the roosts a bit.
*** start of original article ***
This will be our second time brooding chicks. The first time we started in a rubbermade tub then a big cardboard box in the house. We used a heat lamp. We had a few losses. I chalk that up to inexperience. The chicks went out to the coop at about 8 weeks.
That was three years ago. Now we have some experience. Based on a bunch of reading on BYC we are going with the brooder in the covered run. MHP (Momma Heating Pad) in place of a heat lamp. Assuming our local feed store gets their chicks next Friday, we will be in business. We will keep them in the house in a cardboard box brooder for a day or 2. Then it is outside. Here are some pictures of the brooder. I made it out of pallets, HW cloth, roof of plywood. It is in the covered run. But the roof has some leaks. So under one layer of old plywood is a dollar store shower curtain. We are expecting heavy rain tomorrow. So i should see if any water gets in..
The brooder is made from pallets. Wrapped with HW Cloth. I have small doors on the sides that will slide open to allow the little ones to explore. I plan for that around 4 weeks.
The rough dimensions of the brooder are 4' x 2' x 2'. There is no floor just the deep bedding . Will hang the food and water later this week.
I will update this article with progress pictures with the chicks. Also, will show pictures of the chick doors when they ate open and in service.
Here are a few pictures.
Update 6/2/2020:
- We got our new 6 new chicks Friday, 5/29/2020. 1 each of Ameraucana, Olive Egger, Blue Andalusian, Sicilian Buttercup, Welsummer, Blue Australorp. We get the chicks from our local feed store (Ventura Feed and Grain in Taunton, MA). They are great. Real farm people.
- we kept them in the house in a cardboard box brooder with the MHP until today Tuesday 6/2. Two reasons. The grand-kids came by this past weekend, so they got to be up close for a few hours with the chicks. And also to make sure they are doing well.
-MHP rocks. They took to it. Spend little time in it. And so far they are thriving. That was inside. Let's see about outside.
- It is expected to be warm for the next 5 days. lows of 50F highs of 80F. So, the timing seems to have worked.
- We left the winter wrap shower curtains on the south and north walls of the run. The West side is also shielded by the coop and wrap. So we are hoping that there will be very little in the way of drafts.
Update 6/4/2020:
The chicks spent their second night in the outdoors. I moved the remote temperature sensor into the brooder. Just to see what they were experiencing.
The beauty of this method is not needing to worry about temps and 95->90->85... Just allow the MHP to simulate the mother hen.
The chicks are running around the brooder. While the big girls peek in or ignore them.
It is a bit hard to see them as they blend in with the deep bedding. No smell or mess.
The roof of the brooder is just two scrap pieces of plywood. That is a pain as I have to lift them off to check on the chicks or to add food and water. A few hinges would have made this a much better solution. I need it to be a solid roof as the run roof has a few leaks. I guess that is the only disadvantage I see to having the brooder outside.
Update 6/19/2020
We got the chicks three weeks ago. We have had warm weather ranging from a low of 50F to 90F later today. After a few days of normal worry the chicks were just there. They eat so much that we fill the feeder every day. The water needs attention every few days. In one week we will open the chick doors There is a chick door on three sides of the brooder
and allow the chicks to mingle with the big girls.
Here are a couple current pictures.
6 week update.
At 6 weeks the chicks have been using their panic doors to mix in with the hens. They get chased and pecked. But no harm. They are fast. A couple nights ago they started sleeping in the coop. Not on the roost. Rather on a log inside the coop. I originally put it there to help our brama get up to the roost. I just lowered the roosts a bit.
*** start of original article ***
This will be our second time brooding chicks. The first time we started in a rubbermade tub then a big cardboard box in the house. We used a heat lamp. We had a few losses. I chalk that up to inexperience. The chicks went out to the coop at about 8 weeks.
That was three years ago. Now we have some experience. Based on a bunch of reading on BYC we are going with the brooder in the covered run. MHP (Momma Heating Pad) in place of a heat lamp. Assuming our local feed store gets their chicks next Friday, we will be in business. We will keep them in the house in a cardboard box brooder for a day or 2. Then it is outside. Here are some pictures of the brooder. I made it out of pallets, HW cloth, roof of plywood. It is in the covered run. But the roof has some leaks. So under one layer of old plywood is a dollar store shower curtain. We are expecting heavy rain tomorrow. So i should see if any water gets in..
The brooder is made from pallets. Wrapped with HW Cloth. I have small doors on the sides that will slide open to allow the little ones to explore. I plan for that around 4 weeks.
The rough dimensions of the brooder are 4' x 2' x 2'. There is no floor just the deep bedding . Will hang the food and water later this week.
I will update this article with progress pictures with the chicks. Also, will show pictures of the chick doors when they ate open and in service.
Here are a few pictures.
Update 6/2/2020:
- We got our new 6 new chicks Friday, 5/29/2020. 1 each of Ameraucana, Olive Egger, Blue Andalusian, Sicilian Buttercup, Welsummer, Blue Australorp. We get the chicks from our local feed store (Ventura Feed and Grain in Taunton, MA). They are great. Real farm people.
- we kept them in the house in a cardboard box brooder with the MHP until today Tuesday 6/2. Two reasons. The grand-kids came by this past weekend, so they got to be up close for a few hours with the chicks. And also to make sure they are doing well.
-MHP rocks. They took to it. Spend little time in it. And so far they are thriving. That was inside. Let's see about outside.
- It is expected to be warm for the next 5 days. lows of 50F highs of 80F. So, the timing seems to have worked.
- We left the winter wrap shower curtains on the south and north walls of the run. The West side is also shielded by the coop and wrap. So we are hoping that there will be very little in the way of drafts.
Update 6/4/2020:
The chicks spent their second night in the outdoors. I moved the remote temperature sensor into the brooder. Just to see what they were experiencing.
The beauty of this method is not needing to worry about temps and 95->90->85... Just allow the MHP to simulate the mother hen.The chicks are running around the brooder. While the big girls peek in or ignore them.
It is a bit hard to see them as they blend in with the deep bedding. No smell or mess.The roof of the brooder is just two scrap pieces of plywood. That is a pain as I have to lift them off to check on the chicks or to add food and water. A few hinges would have made this a much better solution. I need it to be a solid roof as the run roof has a few leaks. I guess that is the only disadvantage I see to having the brooder outside.
Update 6/19/2020
We got the chicks three weeks ago. We have had warm weather ranging from a low of 50F to 90F later today. After a few days of normal worry the chicks were just there. They eat so much that we fill the feeder every day. The water needs attention every few days. In one week we will open the chick doors There is a chick door on three sides of the brooder
and allow the chicks to mingle with the big girls.Here are a couple current pictures.
