4 Indoor Chicks

[RichH]

I currently have four hens in a 54 gallon tote that is indoors that were born on 11/25. One of the birds is able to hop onto the top of the one quart water screw on jar made by miller manufacturing. My fear is that one day I'm going to walk in to check on the hens and find that one of them has escaped. Is this hen trying to roost on top of the feeder in that I need to change it out or do i need to add a open top grate to the tote to secure it?

Thanks for the help. As you can see by my post, I am very new to this.

 

[Percheron chick]

Fashion some type of wire cover. A board laid over it will keep it in place. They first get on the waterer,then the side then they're wandering around the room.

 

[Sambi89]

I agree I've had escapees before and it's not always fun playing hide and seek.

 

[beb444]

My chicks are a month and a half now and let me tell you they will roost in ANYTHING(water and food containers are their favorite) but I put a little baby fence on top of one part and then a container cover on tbe other cause k have found them walking on the top multiple times. I suggest putting something on top because with age comes more curiosity pictures are attached of my lids

 

[azygous]

It's a rather sad fact that many people who are brooding baby chicks in the confinement of a plastic tote indoors have not realized they could be brooding right in their coop or run, and their chicks could be enjoying all the freedom associated with having a spacious place in which to grow and play and explore. As long as chicks have a heat source, their brooding space can be any size, even 100 square feet.

If this is your first batch of chicks and you have no adult chickens in the picture, and you have a coop already built and ready for occupancy, all you need to do is make sure it's secure from predators, weather, and cold drafts, install your heat source, and move your babies in and watch them thank you by running, flying, jumping up and exploring even the highest perches.

Baby chicks confined to a box are missing out on the best time of their lives. And it's all because we think brooders are the way you are supposed to raise chicks.

If your chicks are trying to escape the brooder, they are trying to let you know that they need space in which to be chickens. Do them a favor and let them move into the coop now.

Even if you have adult chickens in the coop, you can still partition off a safe pen, either in the coop or out in the run, as long as the run is protected from the weather, and the flock will begin to accept the chicks as full members. This makes integration a little later a breeze.

Think about it. Why are your baby chicks in a small brooder box indoors when they could be enjoying their coop and all that terrific space right now?