Brooder or Coop?

[JanaBanana1]

Trying to learn all I can before we get our 6 laying hen chicks...I see how people have posted photos of their chicks in small containments with the heat light.. I was wondering do we have to do this or can they just be put in the coop we are building for them, and add the light to that? I really don't want to have to have baby chicks in the house if I can avoid that, but of course want whats best for them.
Thank you for any and all info

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

If you have a spare bedroomor bathroom that Will work! If you have a large 50 gallon storage bin then use that as a brooder! if you dont go out to walmart aand get one! or use a large card

board box. If you dont have a feeder and waterer thigs for chicks then get a jar lid and fill that up with water. or get a tiny bowl and put 1 layer of marbles in there so this way they cant

drown or get wet. for the liner at the bottom i use paper towles because it is easier to clean then pine shavings. Have a heat lamp in there and raise it 5 degrees every week. The starting

Temp should be 90-95 degress F. Ther you go a nice brooder. Here is a website with brooder ideas https://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-brooder.html it will give you some idea.

When they are fully feathered you can move them into the out door temp when it is warm out !!!! Happy Chicking!!!

 

[mcostas]

My little chicks have outgrown their box. I let them out in the chicken tractor pen when I am home but it's too cold to leave them out there. I need to build something so they can be comfortable indoors, I brought home two boxes to make one big box out of. I'm going to tape it up as soon as I get off teh computer. That brooder link is very timely!

 

[JanaBanana1]

So I guess not until the nights are warmer?

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

Yeah, I wouldn't put them out there until they are fully feathered (about 8 weeks), and also until it is warmer. Your likely to loose them to the weather. I did!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Farmers have done their brooding in barns since forever. Millions of chicks are brooded in barns, not in spare bedrooms or bathrooms.

Of course, you can achieve the required temperatures in the coop. You just use a box out there. You can cover 90% of the top of the box and that usually holds the temps inside well within the required parameters. We brood out dozens of chicks each year out in the barn. I couldn't keep the temps right in the dead of winter, but once daytime highs are in the low 60's and the nights no longer fall much below 40, you can easily do it outside. Warning: take all safety and anti fire hazard precautions no matter where you brood.

The dust these chicks produce is unholy and the smell, well it is organic, shall we say.

 

[Momagain1]

we have ours in a brooder in the living room; nights are still getting in the very low 30's...

however by mid-next wk they will be in larger brooder box (AKA: plywood walls lol)in the garage w/a heat lamp...
for the next 5 wks or so..

then out in the coop

 

[gritsar]

Fred's Hens :

Farmers have done their brooding in barns since forever. Millions of chicks are brooded in barns, not in spare bedrooms or bathrooms.

Of course, you can achieve the required temperatures in the coop. You just use a box out there. You can cover 90% of the top of the box and that usually holds the temps inside well within the required parameters. We brood out dozens of chicks each year out in the barn. I couldn't keep the temps right in the dead of winter, but once daytime highs are in the low 60's and the nights no longer fall much below 40, you can easily do it outside. Warning: take all safety and anti fire hazard precautions no matter where you brood.

The dust these chicks produce is unholy and the smell, well it is organic, shall we say.

I don't brood chicks in the house and never will.​

 

[CowgirlPenny]

I don't have the option to brood outside, as our only outdoor outlet is a safety hazard (it doesn't trip) so as long as mine need a light, they have to be indoors.

 

[JanaBanana1]

Well it may be closer to April then before I buy them... here in Wa we are still very cold during the day...the only spare room I would have is the laundry room. Im sure I will figure out something. Thank you

I am learning so much here!