Chick rooster

I `m getting 4 chicks and I really need to know how to make a chick rooster?

You really need to read the Learning center at the top of the page, all of it, at a minimum, especially if you are getting chicks soon..

I'm not sure what you are asking. Do you want a male chicken or are you looking for a way to put a perch in the brooder for them to play on?

same question are u looking for a roost for the chicks to play on sleep on what ever or are u looking for a male chicken?

I am sorry I mean`t to say BROODER

hollychicken said:

I am sorry I mean`t to say BROODER

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ROFL!!! dont ya hate when you type something wrong like that?!

Anyway, make a box, use a tote, 4 chicks wont take up much size at all ... you will need a heat lamp, waterer and feeder ... are they going to be brooded inside or outside?

Boy, those fingers don't always hit the right keys do they? I have to re-read my posts a lot before I hit submit for the same reasons and I still sometimes have to edit..

You can look in the Learning Center above for pictures of what others have done and a lot more information. You'll see that we do a really wide range of different things.

What you need in a brooder is a place you can feed and water them and keep drafts off of them, yet it has good ventilation. You don't want a breeze hitting them directly. I use a wire brooder but put a draft guard around the bottom foot or so to keep direct breezes off them.

Chicks poop a lot, a whole lot. A wet brooder is a dangerous brooder. That poop is wet and it holds moisture real well. You need to manage that poop. There are several different ways. Some people have access to large cardboard boxes and just change out boxes when they need to. Most people use some type of bedding, often wood shavings, to absorb the moisture. They usually have to change out the bedding occasionally. How often depends on the number of chicks and how big the brooder is. The bottom of my brooder is 1/2" hardware cloth. The poop falls right on through.

You need to keep one area of the brooder warm. There is a rule of thumb that the brooder needs to be 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit the first week and drop it 5 degrees each week. I pretty much ignore that. I keep one small area of the brooder fairly warm, somewhere in that general temperature range, but I let the rest of the brooder cool off to ambient. My brooder is in the coop from Day 1. Sometimes that ambient is in the 40's or 50's overnight. I find that the chicks spend a lot of time in the cooler areas and only go back to the heat when they need to warm up. They do sleep in the warmer area. This way, I don't have to worry about keeping the entire brooder the perfect temperature. They find their comfort zone. Plus I think they are healthier and better acclimated if they have a variety of temperatures to play in.

Ridgerunner said:

You need to keep one area of the brooder warm. There is a rule of thumb that the brooder needs to be 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit the first week and drop it 5 degrees each week. I pretty much ignore that. I keep one small area of the brooder fairly warm, somewhere in that general temperature range, but I let the rest of the brooder cool off to ambient. My brooder is in the coop from Day 1. Sometimes that ambient is in the 40's or 50's overnight. I find that the chicks spend a lot of time in the cooler areas and only go back to the heat when they need to warm up. They do sleep in the warmer area. This way, I don't have to worry about keeping the entire brooder the perfect temperature. They find their comfort zone. Plus I think they are healthier and better acclimated if they have a variety of temperatures to play in.

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I learned this myself .... where were you, Ridge!

That was my biggest stress .... and then a forum member told me the chicks will tell YOU where they're comfortable! You just need to provide a warm area ... and like ridge said, more often than not I find my birds in the colder areas .... the.nest advice for a new chick owner, IMO

Im finding out the same thing about temperature. 1st week the do like it pretty hot. Mine are going on 3 weeks old and they seem more comfortable at only 70 to 75 degrees. I also found out that they crash hard without the light on. I still turn the heat lamp on before I go to bed, but I feel sorry for them, even with the red light.