Arizona Chickens

[CaroleW]

If it is one of those wire dog crates, you can slip a board through the wiring of it to give them a place to roost like I did for my grow-out's.

Yes I have some nice little roost boards that could slip thru the crate wiring. I also like to drill a hole thru them or a good branch and then can wire them to almost anything at any angle even if they won't slip thru the crate wires.

 

[BlueBaby]

Both batches of my shipped Bielefelder hatching egg's are in transit now, so I'll be keeping an eye on the tracking number's until they get here. This will be my last hatch for this year, and in the spring I will be doing hatches from my own flock that should be going good by then.

 

[cavemanrich]

This will be my last hatch for this year,

I have heard this claim by many here on BYC.

 

[BlueBaby]

I have heard this claim by many here on BYC.
View attachment 3254140

Maybe so, but every now and then I do take a break. I wanted to build my flock of Bielefelder's up with enough gene diversity, and this next hatch will put me exactly where I want to be at with them. I do not want to be even hatching from my own flock until spring, and the last boat races that we will have here will be in November. (The Indian's want to drain the lake there and put in something else after that.) Then after that, we will have the holiday's coming up and I don't want chick's in the house for that. I need a break.

 

[Timbers Run]

I've used various brooders, from a stock tank similar in concept to your large tote, to outside, to a 30" x 48 " by about 32 tall wire pet crate. I'd put a piece of hardware cloth or other very breathable screen on top to make sure the babies couldn't fly out of the tote and get trapped outside of it with no food, heat, water etc. Mine haven't really flown so much, just fluttered a bit within the brooder. As they mature they need more space. Also, if you give them more than the bare minimum space, it's easier to clean up after them and they get more space to try flying.

When I made the brooder I cut out around the inside of the top and added half inch mesh wire as the majority of the lid. I drilled holes in various areas of the tote and put dead tree branches in them for perches. I change them around for variety when I clean the tote. They have a big mirror, 2 types of waterers, a hanging bell toy, and a decent size box cut-out to sleep under. They seem very happy. I just feel like they should have a taller brooder than a tote maybe? They are going on 3 weeks old. I may get a dog crate. That's a good idea.

 

[cavemanrich]

I may get a dog crate. That's a good idea.

I just wanted to add this. Not all dog crates are created equal. Meaning,, the distance between grate wires/rods, can vary. The larger crates tend to have wider spacing of the wires/rods. ( I know, having multiple size crates)
My suggestion, so your chicks do not escape, or get stuck trying;;;;;; fashion a cardboard strip around the bottom perimeter of cage. 8 inch high should be enough. Chicks will not try to fly up, and thru the wire opening,,, but they may try to walk thru on the bottom.
Another suggestion,, is placement of brooder. If you can place on top of table, or similar, then when you approach the chicks, you are from the horizontal direction. That makes chicks less stressed, and scared of you. By natural instinct, , chicks fear anything that comes from above.

 

[springvalley123]

I just wanted to add this. Not all dog crates are created equal. Meaning,, the distance between grate wires/rods, can vary. The larger crates tend to have wider spacing of the wires/rods. ( I know, having multiple size crates)
My suggestion, so your chicks do not escape, or get stuck trying;;;;;; fashion a cardboard strip around the bottom perimeter of cage. 8 inch high should be enough. Chicks will not try to fly up, and thru the wire opening,,, but they may try to walk thru on the bottom.
Another suggestion,, is placement of brooder. If you can place on top of table, or similar, then when you approach the chicks, you are from the horizontal direction. That makes chicks less stressed, and scared of you. By natural instinct, , chicks fear anything that comes from above.

The cardboard works great. I used zip ties to hold it against the bars. That was the first and only time I used my single door, 30x48x32 crate! having to crawl into it to set it up, let alone to catch the babies and take them outside, was not something I choose to repeat! But I bought it for $20 and sold for $35, and bought the replacement crate (with side and end doors) on sale.

Cool ideas on placing the brooder on the table!

 

[BlueBaby]

I just wanted to add this. Not all dog crates are created equal. Meaning,, the distance between grate wires/rods, can vary. The larger crates tend to have wider spacing of the wires/rods. ( I know, having multiple size crates)
My suggestion, so your chicks do not escape, or get stuck trying;;;;;; fashion a cardboard strip around the bottom perimeter of cage. 8 inch high should be enough. Chicks will not try to fly up, and thru the wire opening,,, but they may try to walk thru on the bottom.
Another suggestion,, is placement of brooder. If you can place on top of table, or similar, then when you approach the chicks, you are from the horizontal direction. That makes chicks less stressed, and scared of you. By natural instinct, , chicks fear anything that comes from above.

That's true, and not only that, but with it up on some type of table, you won't have to bend over as far neither.

 

[BlueBaby]

Ok, one of the set's of the Bielefelder hatching egg's arrived and I have them unpacked, marked, and sitting to rest from the trip to help to settle the aircells. I picked out the 12 best egg's out of the 18 pack that had 2 of those broken, so there were only 16 unbroken one's. (2 other egg's looked like torpedoes, and one had clumps of extra calcium on the bottom so I rejected them.) Those 12 will be going into my incubator tomorrow. The 2nd set of Bielefelder hatching egg's from another state will be here on Monday.

 

[cavemanrich]

I used my single door, 30x48x32 crate! having to crawl into it to set it up,

You would have to use a 5 gallon bucket of axle grease on me to get to slide into that cage.