8 day old chick's flying out of the brooder HELP!

[LoneCowboy]

Ok, I have 51 very energized chick's. They are 8 days old. They've just discovered they have wing feathers now and they have to fly everywhere. No more walking for these little girls. Anyway, I have 3 that got over the brooder guard today, and one that perched on top of it, just to get my goat.

The problem is, even though it's in it's own coop, there is no water outside the brooder guard, and I don't have extra waters.

Is it safe now to take out the brooder guard and just let them have the run of the coop? it's 6' X 8'. I'm just worried that they'll get out and I won't be able to get them back to food and water like today. I'll be working all day tomorrow as well.

 

[allen wranch]

Put a screen over the top of the brooder to keep them from flying out. You can use a window screen, chicken wire, hardware cloth, etc.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Thanks, I was going to do something like that, but I couldn't find the chicken wire.

DH hid it

I just opened the whole coop up to them, and piled bedding in the corners a little higher to discourage them from huddling in the corners and causing problems. I hope they will be ok. I'm a little worried about it, but they are growing so much faster than I thought they would. They would need more space soon anyway.

 

[gardener]

You mean like my 15 day old SLW here. I cant believe it , I guess i need to add another board on that side i left the one side lower to have easier access into the area. I dont have round corners in this set up. They only run for the corners when I do something major like try to replace the wood shavings.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Mine were on the floor in our kitchen for their first three weeks. A few
adventurous chicks would jump out and explore when we weren't home.
Eventually the would fly up to the table when we were eating.

Screen fixed it.

 

[momma-hen]

I always had that problem. Finally found a fool-proof system...two dog cages one with a heat lamp, one without (so they can escape the warmth)

 

[tvtaber]

Our set up evolved to look like the one above; two dog crates hooked together. One was a wire crate like in the photo and one was the regular plastic kind. The heat lamp was in the plastic kennel and the food and water in the open one. It worked so well I kept them hooked together just in case we get more chicks in the future!

 

[LoneCowboy]

Yeah, see chicks do perch. Mine are 12 days now, I guess it is. They are all over the place. I'm not sure I'd recommend taking on 51 the first time out.

We built a special brooder coop outside. It's insulated and everything, but we are having trouble regulating the temp. We've been having really warm afternoons, and pretty cold nights. I hope they are tough little girls. They all seem happy and healthy.

I even have evidence that they are getting on top of the waterers now.

Busy little critters.

They seem to be doing fine with the whole area opened up to them. Just a hoot to watch.

All of your coops look similar, so I'm going to stop worrying. Thanks all.

 

[seminolewind]

Mine are now 4 weeks old, and I found them in the coop on a shelf a bit over 6 feet high! They must have spent the night there, I had to get them down, and the first thing they did was run to the food bowl. Yes, they can fly

 

[silkiechicken]

At a week old they should do fine in their coop without a brooder guard. If the light doesn't go out on them, they shouldn't pile in corners. I've never had a problem of corner piling unless the light went out mid night and they got cold.