3 week old chicks outgrowing largest tub I could find!!

[Elemes]

Thanks so much for your advice! I do think I'm being an overprotective first time parent with these chicks! The only thing I have at the moment is a baby travel crib/playpen....here's what I just rigged. What do you think? I put them in just now and will leave them out for awhile - it's only 60 but I'll keep an eye and see if they are acting cold. Hopefully that will help them burn off some energy! I'll drill holes in the lid of the tub I've been using (it came with a lid but I haven't used it) so I can put that on at night, and will try a night with no light! Thanks again! [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR]

Looks good, did they have fun? I don't have to actually affix my lid at night. It's more just to lay over the top and let them know it's sleepy town. FYI they will freak when something comes overhead and you can certainly use anything that makes the most sense to you.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi everyone! I'm new to chickens and loving it; have really appreciated all the wisdom on these forums as I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing

We have 8 chicks, approx 3 weeks old, who are currently residing in the largest (150L) tub they sell at the hardware store. It was plenty of room a week ago, but this week things are going crazy....a few of them are attempting to fly out and almost making it, they bonk their heads on the heat lamp when they try to fly, they're restless and pecking/jumping at each other, and if I put the mesh cover over the top they are able to peck at it and pull it down.

I don't know how much longer this is going to work! Do you have any suggestions for a cost-effective solution? - like I said, there are no bigger tubs at the giant hardware superstore. I'm afraid if I put metal chicken wire over the top then one will jump up and get its head through and hang itself, iykwim.

Also, when would you put your chicks outside? It is spring here (Australia), so weather is in the 70s though still dipping to the 60s at times. I've heard 6 weeks, but they are going to giants by then! We have a coop and run coming by the end of this week.

Thank you!

I assume they are in your house? You might want to consider turning that heat light off. Start with a couple of hours during the day, see how they react to it, and increase the time from there. Mama hen would be running them ragged outdoors by now, and only stopping to warm them up intermittently. No constant source of heat for broody hen raised chicks! Can you get welded wire hardware cloth (1/2"?) Are the windows of your new coop covered with that? If not, you might want to buy some for BOTH your brooder cover and for the windows and vents of your coop. Snakes are a huge problem in Australia from what other folks in your neighborhood are saying! Turning off that light will speed their feathering and make it easier to harden them off for the move to the coop. Check out the "huddle box" idea that Azygous came up with. You can type the topic or her name in the search bar at the top of the page. They are old enough to convert to a huddle box now. Call your local appliance store, and you should be able to pick up an appliance box. Much bigger! (I pick up an entire truck load of cardboard from my local appliance warehouse at a time)

Move them out to the coop asap. Search for brooding chicks outdoors, there are good articles here about that.

In the meantime, big cardboard boxes work wonders. Here in the States grocery stores have them for pumpkins, watermelon, etc during whatever season. Appliance boxes work well also, if you know someone who just bought a stove or washer

. If all you find are smaller boxes, tape them next to each other and cut a door between them so the chicks have two rooms. Heat lamp in one box, food and water in the other.

Ditto that!

 

[azygous]

I am totally with donrae on her suggestion to move the chick out to coop and run immediately!

I'm one of the proponents of outdoor brooding, See my article linked below this post. Chicks benefit by being in as large a space as possible. They're restless because stress is building fast by being forced to live in such a confined space, even the playpen doesn't afford the freedom of movement chicks require for maximum well being. Unless your coop and run is still a state of mind instead of an actual structure, you have no excuse not to move them now.

To demonstrate how much chicks hunger to be able to run and flap their wings and even engage in low level flight, let them go wild in your yard while you stand by and watch over them. It will bring joy to your heart.

 

[skybleu92]

I am totally with donrae on her suggestion to move the chick out to coop and run immediately!

I'm one of the proponents of outdoor brooding, See my article linked below this post. Chicks benefit by being in as large a space as possible. They're restless because stress is building fast by being forced to live in such a confined space, even the playpen doesn't afford the freedom of movement chicks require for maximum well being. Unless your coop and run is still a state of mind instead of an actual structure, you have no excuse not to move them now.

To demonstrate how much chicks hunger to be able to run and flap their wings and even engage in low level flight, let them go wild in your yard while you stand by and watch over them. It will bring joy to your heart.

Thank you everyone! We have ordered the coop and it should come tomorrow.... We'll get them out asap!

Azygous, I'd love to read that article but don't see the link. Would you mind reposting it? Thanks!

 

[azygous]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors

 

[junebuggena]

They are feathered in enough to easily handle 60 to 70 degree weather without supplemental heat. Get them out ASAP.

 

[skybleu92]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors

Thank you! That was so helpful, but now I feel like I've messed it all up with the way we've brooded them do you think if we get them out asap (at 3 weeks) some of the damage can be undone?

 

[cheep82]

Thank you! That was so helpful, but now I feel like I've messed it all up with the way we've brooded them do you think if we get them out asap (at 3 weeks) some of the damage can be undone?

No I kept my first lot of chicks inside longer than they should have. They're 3yos and fine.

I have 4wkd olds and they visit outside duringb the day in a triangle rabbit hutch (gumtree bargain). I'm in Aus too and find the night is probably still too cold for them but now it's warming up during the day they're loving being out there. When I'm home I'll let them have a free run around and they love that.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thank you! That was so helpful, but now I feel like I've messed it all up with the way we've brooded them

do you think if we get them out asap (at 3 weeks) some of the damage can be undone?

Exactly what damage are you talking about? Chickens are resilient. You wouldn't want to take them directly from 95* to 50* in a single day. They need to be hardened off much as you would a tomato plant before setting it out in your garden. They'll be fine.

 

[azygous]

Yeah, you haven't damaged your chicks! Just start backing off the heat, and get them moved outdoors asap.

Start by letting them be outside on nice days, extending their time more each day. Back off the heat at night until they aren't needing it. Then they should be ready to sleep outside.

Chicks at three weeks shouldn't need heat during the day as long as the temp is over 20C.