Brooder in the kitchen?

[Eggcellent Adventure]

Hi there,

Totally new and really loving our new chicks! We have the brooder box in the kitchen so that we can watch them and handle them often. 4 Red Stars that we are planning to keep as "pets" and want to have them really bond with the kids. So quick question...

I read some books that say that the chicks give of a white powder/protein as the molt, etc. (think that's right - I'm still getting down all this terminology Is it ok to keep them in the kitchen (family room) for a couple weeks health wise? I know a lot of people have brooders in basements, barns, bathrooms, etc. Just wondering if there are other kitchen brooders out there and how long we can keep them in the living area?

Thanks!!

 

[happyhensny]

Mine are in the kitchen by the computer. Yes, they are dusty. BUT, we all should do a thorough spring cleaning so I just wait till it is warm enough to put them out and clean at that time. Here, usually the end of April or so. I have firends that bring their newly hated out to the barn with big heat lights. As long as you are willing to provide sufficient heat they will be fine anywhere.

 

[klmclain1]

I kept mine in our dining room for the first two weeks - but it's a separate room from the kitchen. I know you're not supposed to keep them in the area you eat in especially - and we RARELY use our dining room! I thought even that area was "iffy" because of it's proximity to the kitchen. Do you have a bathroom you could put them in instead? or a spare bedroom???

 

[jennh]

I have raised 4 batches of chicks. They have all been in my unused dining room. I WOULD NOT want them in my kitchen. You will not believe the dust they make. And you're going to prepare food and possibly EAT in there? IMHO, I wouldn't do it. Don't you have another room you can keep them in?

JMHO,
Jen

 

[andalusn]

The incubator is in the kitchen so when they hatched and I needed to move them to a brooder they went into a clear plastic tote on the kitchen table

Now a full week old they are moving to bigger digs tomorrow when the EcoGlo unit arrives and I setup the brooder in the garage. The first half of the week they just slept .... I guess it was hard work hatching.

 

[Eggcellent Adventure]

We do have lots of places to keep them. We had chosen the kitchen, just because we always seem to end up spending the most time there. Maybe because we only have 4, but it hadn't gotten dusty yet. Not even smelly

. I think I will move them to the bathroom off the kitchen. They'll still be close by, but a bit further from eating areas. We LOVE having them there to watch and play with.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

An incubator in the kitchen - maybe.

A brooder in the kitchen? No way. Too, too much dust that WILL get on your food prep surfaces.

 

[Judy]

The dust chicks create is largely their dander, what they shed. But it is also dust from the litter, which means it is going to be dust from dried poop as well, at least assuming you are using pine shavings or something similar.

 

[gryeyes]

I have four brooders in my bathroom right now. 3 are using EcoGlows and the fourth brooder is full of six-week-old chicks, so they don't need supplemental heat even in a cool bathroom. I do have one heat lamp set up sorta high just to take the edge off at night for the colder nights, because I don't keep my house very warm. The bathroom gets pretty chilly, otherwise.

Before I got the EcoGlow units, that bathroom (my only one) used to be like a SAUNA.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Yes, yes and quadruple billions of yeses. I've brooded chicks a looooong time and have yet to find a way to keep the dust down! I have a tiny room on one end of the house that is ONLY for brooding chicks- they really don't need to be handled all the time. I feed, water and clean and I'm done, twice a day. But my grown birds all come to hang around when I'm outside and some are lap lizards.