Brooder Question...

[Tnchickennewbie]

I'm new so bare with me lol. My question is this though. How old do chicks need to be before you remove then from the brooder?

 

[AlienChick]

"Generally" speaking . . . about 6 weeks old.

You really want to make sure they are fully feathered.

However, it also depends on your location; if you live in the tropics, you can boot them out much earlier; say, at 4 weeks old.
If you live in Alaska, perhaps you'd keep 'em protected a bit longer.

If you move them out, just keep an eye on them throughout the day and night. If they're frolicking about, they're not cold. If they're huddled together in a lump, they're cold.

I have some 2-week olds that are inside my house, so I do not use a heat lamp any more. They do have the option of running underneath their EcoGlow brooder, but they mostly stay outside the brooder because my house is warm enough. If they were not inside my warm house, I would have to ensure their environment is warm enough that they do not get chilled. I also have two chick brooders outside in a shed where I use heat lamps. I keep the temp in the 70's for them so they'll feather out better and be able to handle the winter outside.

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

Thank you. We live in TN so its not too cold her but it has it's moments. We are just getting started but I am building our brooder in our shed. So the wind is blocked and it's really dry in there. Our brooder is 5' 6" long 2'6" wide and 2'6" deep, approximately how many chicks will that comfortably brood at one time?

 

[Fred's Hens]

A brooder that size can handle 8-10 chicks OK. There has to be space deducted for the water and feed. The chicks grow at an astounding rate. They'll want fly right up 2 or 3 feet high when they're a month old. Enjoy your experience.

Don't worry too much about the "precise" temperature. Set your heat lamp toward one end, and the chicks will congregate there if they need the heat, while still having room to escape the heat if they get too hot. Raise and lower the lamp, or decrease the wattage if you find they are too hot. Too hot looks like them standing afar, wings lifted and looking kind of stroked out in heat. Dangerous.

Too cold looks like them huddling like a Rugby team and peeping LOUDLY. Have fun and enjoy you experience.

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

Thank you very much for that info. We are a couple weeks away from getting our chicks. We are going with a local breeder so no shipping worries. I hope that makes the survival rate a little higher.