Brooder size question and ideas wanted

[sagehound]

Hi,
I am getting my first 16 chicks in June and was planning to have the brooder in my office in the house so I can keep an eye on them and get them used to me. Question....I have read that the brooder should provide 1 sq ft of space per chick until week 2-3 and then they should have 2-3 sq ft per chick. That would mean I wouldn't be able to keep them in the house. Does it really have to be that big? What are the pros/cons to have a double decker and separate the chicks into two bunches of 8 and then put them together in the coop when they are fully feathered? It should be fairly warm here (central Oregon) but the nights would be cold so I am not convinced that I could keep them warm enough in the garage.

Thoughts?? Ideas?? Help?

Thank you!!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Finish your coop and brood them in the coop with a heat plate, they will feather out faster and wean off heat on their own in 4-5 weeks. No dust in house

Good luck

Gary

 

[lazy gardener]

Chick dander is absolutely horrid. Imagine a super fine oily sandy silt that covers every surface, including vertical ones! By the time your chicks are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have 2 s.f./bird.

I brood my chicks with the MHP system. They start out in an appliance box in my garage for just a few days. As soon as I'm sure they are eating and drinking well, I trundle chicks and their MHP to their outdoor grow out coop. By the time they are 3 weeks old, they are using the loft coop section and flitting back and forth from loft to their lower level run. Walking into that coop is almost like walking into an aviary full of parakeets. They just LOVE to fly! Night time temps get down to 20's. My chicks are content and well adjusted to day/night routine. They go to bed at dusk, and trill themselves to sleep. In the morning, they are up and eating breakfast, playing in coop and run, only returning to their MHP if they feel the need to warm up.

In comparison, the heat lamp chicks are up and down 24/7, falling into little piles of narcoleptic chicks, while their flock mates party on, running over their sleeping buddies. So, the sleepers get woken from their naps, to join the party animals, until a few more crash, and the cycle repeats it'self day and night. They never get a full night's rest. They never trill themselves to sleep. They never experience natural day/night cycles. When they are finally weaned from their heat lamp, they are terrified of the dark.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Dust, office, computers, printers.

Hmmm, such a hard choice


Gary

 

[ChickNanny13]

Read up on MHP (heating pad) by Blooie in the Raising Chicks forum. Since I tried it, have not regrets. I raise chicks in a huge plastic bin in the house under MHP for a week for observation, then they go out into the brooder in my patio (3x8) with the MHP. It's amazing how DUSTY & stinky they get fast.

Another thing I've learned from BYC Members - Fermenting feed (Feeding & Watering forum). Yes some do not advocate it but I the benefits are a blessing. Aside from the nutritional benefits, there's no feed wast cause they're not scratching crumbles all over & dust at the bottom of the bag goes right into the mix, the poo is firmer & there's less of it plus it don't stink, except the cecal it still stinks.

Have learned and still learning from EVERYONE here ... THANK YOU ALL BYC MEMBERS!

 

[AllenK RGV]

If you brood them indoors as I did, you are going to upset the Janatorial Staff. If you are the Janitor you will never attempt this again. Would you be so kind as to add your location information to your Account then choose personal details and then fill in the location box for us. You wouldn't like my idea of how to brood them this time of year as I have 87F highs and 70F lows for the rest of the week unless you live in a similar environment to me.

edit- Replaced "cleaning Lady" with sex neutral terms.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I guess I didn't think they would smell that bad? If I kept it clean? LOL...I now have my doubts!

I only had 3 chicks (brooded in a bathtub) and by 5 weeks I could smell them from down the hall. Plus the dander they left reached all the way up the shower wall, to the overhead window, across to the sink... it's like cleaning a greasy kitchen, words can't describe it!

 

[igorsMistress]

We used a 4x4 dog enclosure with a tarp zip tied to it for the bottom. It was big enough until the chicks went outside to the coop a few weeks later.

A double decker would be ok if you can provide heat in both. Side by side may be better so they can socialize, would make integration easier I think.

In June I would think they'd be fine in the garage if you provide a source of heat.

 

[jreardon1918]

Brood outside. Lat year was our first go round. We did it inside. We raised 7 chicks. Went well for 3-4 days and then it started to get less right by the day. Yuck. Next time (2019), MHP, in the coop or run. This should work especially well where you are not integrating with an existing flock.

*edited to correct auto-correct

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I've never had a problem with smell but I do keep the brooder very clean. I generally add a new layer of shavings after two days or so, then after another two days I scoop the lot out and replace. Then two days later I add another layer, then I replace... you get the idea. I get through a lot of shavings but I buy the big bales for £7 and that lasts for a whole clutch of chicks. (That doesn't change the fact you'll still want them out of your house quickly though !!)

X2...a dry, maintained brooder really isn't smelly. Generally smell develops from wetness (spilled water) and poor maintenance. Preventing water spillage and adding a fresh layer of clean bedding over soiled bedding (I don't strip the brooder...I will remove wet spots if spills happen) keeps odor from being a problem. The dust and dander, though........ugh!