brooder size

[Steve P]

I'm picking up my chicks on Monday and was wondering how big of a brooder I need for 15 chicks. I was planning on sectioning off part of their coop. The coop is 8x8 and it is insulated. I planned on Making it like 3x8 and it will have a heat lamp in there. I'm in Michigan and it's suppose to be 60's during the day and 40's at night. Will this be ok?

 

[TxChick77]

I would think it mihht be hard to keep the temps at a steady 95 at night in the early days in the coop. I have 8 in a 50 gallon tote with more than enough room (mine are only 4 days old) but dont think they will make it the full 8 wks before i have to move them out.
Is it possible to keep them indoors for the first couple of weeks when they need a steady temp?

 

[Steve P]

I would think it mihht be hard to keep the temps at a steady 95 at night in the early days in the coop. I have 8 in a 50 gallon tote with more than enough room (mine are only 4 days old) but dont think they will make it the full 8 wks before i have to move them out.
Is it possible to keep them indoors for the first couple of weeks when they need a steady temp?

In my garage that has the same amount of insulation as the coop does

 

[Steve P]

In my garage that has the same amount of insulation as the coop does

I didn't plan on having them out in the whole coop. I'm going to section it off and run heat lamps to provide heat. I can run more than 1 if needed

 

[Percheron chick]

I would restrict the area they have access to initially. Put them in a stock tank or make a barrier out of cardboard so they can't wander too far from the heat lamp.

 

[HotDesertChick]

I totally agree with Percheron chick.

Don't make the Baby Pen too large. Even making the perimeter "round", will lessen cold babies piling up in corners. These little guys aren't the brightest lights in the sky. Drafty conditions aren't good for wee ones, either.

Mother Hen doesn't provide drafts? Mum Hen continually monitors her kids. Think like a chicken?

I try not to, though.

 

[yolksonus]

For the first 2 1/2 weeks we had our 9 chicks in a 2x4 brooder and they did great. They are growing

fast so today I expanded the brooder to its full 4x4 size. They LOVE all the space. They have been running around and playing. The first pic is their small space and the second is the brooder at full size.

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[Steve P]

For the first 2 1/2 weeks we had our 9 chicks in a 2x4 brooder and they did great. They are growing

fast so today I expanded the brooder to its full 4x4 size. They LOVE all the space. They have been running around and playing. The first pic is their small space and the second is the brooder at full size.

[/IMG]

That's what I was planning on doing. Just it would already be in the main coop. But then I remembered I have a 2x4 box that I had built for something else so I will use that for the first couple of weeks then move then out to the main coop but won't let them outside for awhile yet. Thank you for sharing your pics.