3LilChickadees
Chirping
Our current brooder is made of 8 brooder panels from Premier 1 Supplies. I am currently having a couple issues.
1. Where do I put the chicks when I clean the brooder?
They were so small the first week that we used a plastic storage container as a brooder. We just put them in another one to clean it and put in fresh bedding. Do I need to keep them in the brooder while we clean it? If we had done it Friday, when it was in the 70's, sunny and calm, we would have put them outside. It rained yesterday, and today it is 55 degrees and windy, and the ground is very soggy. Therefore that's not an option.
2. The birds can get out of the brooder. When can I move them outside?
The brooder panels are 16" tall. The chicks hatched and were shipped March 9, so they are just shy of three weeks old. They are more content in the brooder than out so I'm hoping repositioning the panels to achieve the largest footprint and moving the heat plate further away from the wall will help. However, they can jump/fly from the ground to the top of the panel.
A little more info- I live in middle TN where the average last frost date is a month away. Average low temps are in the low 40's. Average high temps are upper 60's. I am using the Pilgrims Pride heat plate that can be put vertical and used for radiant heat in a coop. Right now the heat plate is at its tallest height and they spend a lot of time away from it. They are housed in a stand alone garage that we use for storage and is not heated. Our flock consists of 3 white leghorns, 11 black sex link, and 13 barred rock. I have attached photos so you can get an idea of their feathering.
I'm thinking maybe next week put them in a small coop (1.5 - 2 sq ft per bird) either in the shop or outside, but not give them a run? Any suggestions or advice is welcome! I'm headed over to the coop section to get ideas for an interim coop, which we will need because many rainy weekends have set back our permanent coop construction!
1. Where do I put the chicks when I clean the brooder?
They were so small the first week that we used a plastic storage container as a brooder. We just put them in another one to clean it and put in fresh bedding. Do I need to keep them in the brooder while we clean it? If we had done it Friday, when it was in the 70's, sunny and calm, we would have put them outside. It rained yesterday, and today it is 55 degrees and windy, and the ground is very soggy. Therefore that's not an option.
2. The birds can get out of the brooder. When can I move them outside?
The brooder panels are 16" tall. The chicks hatched and were shipped March 9, so they are just shy of three weeks old. They are more content in the brooder than out so I'm hoping repositioning the panels to achieve the largest footprint and moving the heat plate further away from the wall will help. However, they can jump/fly from the ground to the top of the panel.
A little more info- I live in middle TN where the average last frost date is a month away. Average low temps are in the low 40's. Average high temps are upper 60's. I am using the Pilgrims Pride heat plate that can be put vertical and used for radiant heat in a coop. Right now the heat plate is at its tallest height and they spend a lot of time away from it. They are housed in a stand alone garage that we use for storage and is not heated. Our flock consists of 3 white leghorns, 11 black sex link, and 13 barred rock. I have attached photos so you can get an idea of their feathering.
I'm thinking maybe next week put them in a small coop (1.5 - 2 sq ft per bird) either in the shop or outside, but not give them a run? Any suggestions or advice is welcome! I'm headed over to the coop section to get ideas for an interim coop, which we will need because many rainy weekends have set back our permanent coop construction!