12 year old son. First timer

[skid-mcmarks]

Ok, my son has 6 golden comets on order which should be picked up in about 2 weeks. Dad (me) wants to do this right with as few losses as possible. Big questions...can I keep the chick's in a cardboard box with a heat lamp? (Better suggestion?)

How long until they are moved outside to the coop/pen?

Lastly, does each bird need a nest box? I know I read somewhere they'll share nests. Even if they'll share, is it just good practice to give them all their own space, or is this just unnecessary?

Finishing up coop in next couple weeks.

I live in northeast PA if it matters at all for outside acclimation.

Thanks folks. This looks like a great place for information.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Ok, my son has 6 golden comets on order which should be picked up in about 2 weeks. Dad (me) wants to do this right with as few losses as possible. Big questions...can I keep the chick's in a cardboard box with a heat lamp? (Better suggestion?)

How long until they are moved outside to the coop/pen?

Lastly, does each bird need a nest box? I know I read somewhere they'll share nests. Even if they'll share, is it just good practice to give them all their own space, or is this just unnecessary?

Finishing up coop in next couple weeks.

I live in northeast PA if it matters at all for outside acclimation.

Thanks folks. This looks like a great place for information.

Sure you can use a cardboard box but I would cut the bottom out---place it on a scrap piece of vinyl and add some shavings. Most with small numbers just use a decent size plastic tote. Set your brooder up where you only are heating one end or one area if its round. NEVER heat the whole thing----make it like a mother hen----a area about the size of a paper plate for them to get under to warm---never heat their food or water---let that be on the other side. You for sure do not need a red 250 watt heat bulb----they are dangerous, pull a lot of electricity and for sure are not needed. I use something like a 40 or 60 watt bulb with a hanging light fixture on one end. Allow the light to be low enough that the temp is around 100 degree's in the middle of the light---on the floor. Each week you need to raise the light so the temp drops app 5 degree's----after 2/3 weeks you can lower the bulb wattage and lower the fixture to get the temp where its suppose to be if you want, you keep lowering the temp each week until the temp is about the same as the room temp---maybe run a little heat on the cooler nights. After about 4 weeks I move my chicks outside(we rarely have snow) to a round pen with 1/2" hardware cloth and also have a little heated "coop" they can get in to warm.

About one nesting box for every 3 hens is plenty so you only need 2--no more than 3 unless you plan to grow----more chickens.

 

[dannygirl1]

I wouldn't put shavings in until a week old and they know whats feed and whats not. Newspaper with kitchen paper on top is great and provides good traction for little feet, no slipping,. I use a heat plate from brinsea which is very safe and uses very little electricity, enjoy them

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Any chance you'll have the coop finished before the chicks arrive? If so, You can brood them right in the coop and keep them out of your house altogether. They make an incredible amount of dust from their shed dander. Imagine an oily silt that covers all surfaces, including vertical ones. that's chick dander. Any one with allergies will definitely like NOT having them in your living space.

Brooder space: by the time they are weaned from heat, they should have about 2 s.f./chick so they have plenty of room to move about, practice their flying, and simply play. An appliance box IMO is much preferred to a plastic tote. It gives them much more room, and does not hold as much heat. You'll want to give them a warm spot as suggested by PDR. But, the rest of the brooder should be nice and cool. Many of us are now brooding our chicks with heating pads. You can get the "how to" by reading the article in my signature (written by Blooie). This style of brooding is much safer than a heat lamp, and it more closely mimics the type of heat and security provided by a mama broody hen. the chicks are not stuck under a bright light 24/7, and with a heating pad cave, they actually sing themselves to sleep. They feather out faster, their social development is more appropriate, and they are already tuned in to natural day/night cycles, and when it starts to get dark, they simply go to bed for the night.

Other considerations: you might want to look into fermented feed. (see FAQ article at bottom of my sig.

Building the coop: For back yard flocks, the general recommendation is 4 s.f./bird in the coop, 10 s.f./bird in the run. 1/2" hardware cloth to cover all openings larger than a quarter to make it predator proof. Lots of ventilation is key to having a healthy environment. Check out the option of building a soil floored coop. This allows you to do a deep composting litter in the coop which has so many advantages: Healthier for the birds, easier to maintain. Creates an odorless composted litter that will not need to be cleaned, unless you are reducing the volume of the compost (great for your gardens). Also, consider a variation on the Wood's coop style. A super easy coop to build is a hoop coop (for the wood/stick built challenged folks). Hoop coops are wonderful structures, even if you are not wood structure challenged. The only draw back to them is that the tarp covering needs to be changed as it degrades due to UV light. As for nest boxes, your girls will pick a favorite, and fight over it, but you'll need 2 boxes if for nothing more than to give the least favored girl a chance to lay an egg while the other 5 are fighting over the favorite box.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I wouldn't put shavings in until a week old and they know whats feed and whats not.

Why???

 

[snow5164]

I wouldn't put shavings in until a week old and they know whats feed and whats not.

Why???

Because they can eat it and die .....

Use newspaper with paper towels on top,
Change the paper towels lots to keep their feet clean .... have fun and read everything you can ... Chickens for Dummies is a great resource

 

[PD-Riverman]

Because they can eat it and die .....

Use newspaper with paper towels on top,
Change the paper towels lots to keep their feet clean .... have fun and read everything you can ... Chickens for Dummies is a great resource

LOL. How many chicks have you raised? I have raised 100's and 100's and 1000's on flake pine shavings from straight out the hatcher. I buy the shavings several blocks at the time. I rarely loose a chick, but if I loose one out of a hundred or two I am sure its not from being on pine chips. Sorry if you lost some and thought it was the chips----No I would not use fine chips.

 

[snow5164]

I wouldn't put shavings in until a week old and they know whats feed and whats not. Newspaper with kitchen paper on top is great and provides good traction for little feet, no slipping,. I use a heat plate from brinsea which is very safe and uses very little electricity, enjoy them

Well said I agree with everything you said including the brinsea , i love my brinsea heater and so do my chicks I am no fan of heat lamps, they should be illegal.

 

[skid-mcmarks]

You guys are awesome. Even if you disagree over some of the specifics. Thanks for taking the time to help. I've read everything, and have a battle plan. The coop, probably won't be done by their arrival, so I'm working on the contingency. Again, thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to help me out.

 

[PD-Riverman]

You guys are awesome. Even if you disagree over some of the specifics. Thanks for taking the time to help. I've read everything, and have a battle plan. The coop, probably won't be done by their arrival, so I'm working on the contingency. Again, thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to help me out.

I am a fact person, not hear say---Probably at least 1000 chicks out of over 6000 chicks I hatched in 2015 alone were raise on pine shavings, with no problems at all----it gets to me for someone to come behind me and make it sound like I do not know what I am doing or saying---and a lot of times the person that is stating it has never lost a chick to that problem----they have just always heard that. If they have the Necropsy repost that states some chicks die from eating pine shavings-----with my personal results I would feel they were not being fed and eat the chips from starvation. My Thoughts anyway. LOL. Welcome to the Forum and happy chicken raising!!