We are getting 10-12 standard chicks this week. I am confused about brooder size. How much space are they going to need before I can move them out into the coop? I know they grow really fast. Is there any kind of equation I can use?
I'm going to tell you what I did and maybe a suggestion. We have a dog crate 2.5 x 3' and when my 5 BA's were 7 wks they had just about outgrew it. So depending on the birds and temperature concerns-- for 10 you might want to go bigger 4 x 8' with a screened top to keep the buggers in.
2 x 4 x 2 stock tank is what we use for our brooder. You can get a metal one at a farm store and reuse it as your brooder as it is easy to clean/sanitize between batches and easy to make a cover for out of hardware cloth to keep all the unwanted ones out. I raise mostly large dual purpose birds and have brooded a dozen at a time in it over the winter and up to 2 dozen for a shorter amount of time in the warmer months.
I always say make as large as you can. The more room a chick has the less trouble you will have. They can get away from the heat and one another if needed.
