Brooder size to 8 weeks?

[HogFoo]

First timer here. I've been reading conflicting things. Some say 1ft/chicken in the brooder to 8 weeks. Others say put them outside into the regular coop after 4 weeks or so. We have 9 chicks arriving in 2 weeks. We've moving in early June to our new house so about 6-8 weeks with the chicks until we are there. I'll be building the bigger/permanent coop there in May so it's ready when we arrive. Basically, I need to keep them in the brooder until we get to the permanent coop.

For the brooder, am I okay keeping chicks in there up to 8 weeks and, if so, can anyone suggest how big a brooder I should build to future proof until we get to the new house? Or am I approaching this all wrong?

Any suggestions or other tips for what I'm trying to do here would be much appreciated. We're super excited for our new chicks to arrive and I want to be sure we're as ready as we can be before they come. Thanks all!

 

[rosemarythyme]

You're going to get different answers because everyone broods their chicks differently.

I'd say at a minimum 1 sq ft per chick up to 4 weeks, 2 sq ft up to 8 weeks. That said, I myself go bigger from the start (2 sq ft), and even then I find they start getting mischievous by 3 weeks or so.

 

[Peppercorngal]

First timer here. I've been reading conflicting things. Some say 1ft/chicken in the brooder to 8 weeks. Others say put them outside into the regular coop after 4 weeks or so. We have 9 chicks arriving in 2 weeks. We've moving in early June to our new house so about 6-8 weeks with the chicks until we are there. I'll be building the bigger/permanent coop there in May so it's ready when we arrive. Basically, I need to keep them in the brooder until we get to the permanent coop.

For the brooder, am I okay keeping chicks in there up to 8 weeks and, if so, can anyone suggest how big a brooder I should build to future proof until we get to the new house? Or am I approaching this all wrong?

Any suggestions or other tips for what I'm trying to do here would be much appreciated. We're super excited for our new chicks to arrive and I want to be sure we're as ready as we can be before they come. Thanks all!

Well, just like all chicken lovers you sort of put the cart before the horse! I wouldn't get chicks until I had a place to put them! But you are, so, you can make a brooder out of anything for when they are small. As they grow they need space! I put day old chicks outside in the brooder! I'm from a farm family and was taught that livestock does NOT belong in the house! But, you can do that too! Some folks use big plastic totes and put them in their laundry room or in the bathtub. I have a little "cage" that I use for the brooder. When the chicks are old enough (4 weeks) I open the doors and put wire up that the big chickens can't fit through. The baby chicks can get out and run back in but the hens don't fit through. That way they self-integrate. Maybe you can make a cage big enough to house them until you move, and then take the cage with you???? It doesn't have to be as big as the one I have, but along these lines perhaps?

P.S. When we aren't using this as a brooder we store straw in it.

 

[HogFoo]

Thanks for the info, everyone! Much appreciated.