brooding chicks - daily routine

[otonoh]

Hi, I would like to brood some chicks but I am concerned about not being home all day to check on them. Do you check on the chicks hourly? What is your routine Is an aquarium ok to brood them or is it better to use a metal tub or rubbermaid container?

thanks

David

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

I brood mine in a cardboard box with a light hanging from a hook in the ceiling in my basement. I have a screen over the top to keep them from flying out. I check on them before work and when I come home. There is a thermometer in the box to monitor temps and they have enough space to get away from the heat if it is too much. The main thing is to be sure your setup is safe (from animals and kids running through), the heat source is secure from falling or moving and there is enough space for the chicks to move into and out of the heat source. What you brood them in is really a matter of choice. I have had no problems with using boxes and when I am done, I just throw them out. I keep two boxes so that I can switch them out from time to time if the parties get to wild and the cheeps knock over their waterer!

 

[Fred's Hens]

David

No you don't need to check on them. Morning and evening is plenty, if you are set up correctly.
An aquarium is not a good brooder. It doesn't allow for air circulation and you'd risk cooking them.

A large box is much better. A cage even better because it breathes. A heat lamp that allows for a 90 degree hot spot, with cooler areas for them to go to cool off. Floor should be covered with shavings, not slick newspaper which can cause slippery footing and leg damage.

A feeder and a water supply (inexpensive to purchase) from a feed store. A bag of chick starter.
Again, don't cook your chicks. If they are peeping like crazy and piling on top of each other? They are cold. But over heating is a horrid thing to do.

There are 1000's of photo here of people's setup. Most are too small and some aren't very practical for more than a week, as chicks grow fast, but you'll get ideas, lots of them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Many people check the chicks in the morning before they leave for school or work, then next check them when they get home. And many of us sleep through the night without getting up top check on the chicks. If you can, checking on them more often is better, but it is not always possible. Just do the best you can.

People have used all those and many other things as brooders. As long as you provide one area in the brooder that is in the right temperature range, it is draft-free, and it is predator-proof, any will work.

I personally prefer something bigger than smaller. You'll be surprised at how fast they grow. Don't forget to cover it either, usually with wire for good ventilation. You'll be surprised at how soon they can fly out.

Especially if you cannot be around a lot, I think they are safer in something bigger. One of your bigger risks is that they get too hot or too cold. If you have the brooder big enough that you can keep one area warm enough but allow the rest of the brooder to cool down below that recommended range, they will be able to find their comfort zone. That way you do not cook them of chill them by the brooder getting too hot or too cold.

I use a home-made 3' x 5' brooder in the coop from day 1. One area right under the heat light is in the right temperature range, but the far corners cool down 20 to 30 degrees cooler than the recommended range. I find they tend to spend the first couple of days laying under the heat lamp, but by the third day they are playing all over the brooder, only coming back to the heat to warm up when they need to. That is not as often as you might think. They do sleep in a pile under the heat, but during the day they are all over.

Good luck!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Fred's Hens :

No you don't need to check on them.

Quote:
This is what I do as well. Check on them in the a.m. as part of the morning chores. Then again in the p.m. as part of the evening chores. If I have time stand around and watch them when I can, but don't usually have the time.

And agree about the need for plenty of air flow (but not drafty). Chicks make dust and it needs to be able to get out not build up forcing them to breath it.​

 

[ScissorChick]

Aquariums and plastic containers are totally fine to use. The best really.

But since it doesn't provide great ventilation, I like to have mine in somthing

more 'open' by the time they're 4-5 weeks old. You do not have to check on them

hourly. Before you leave for work or school, and as soon as you get home works.

I always feed and water mine early in the morning, change the bedding, and pet

them a little, which in total, takes me about 15 minutes. Good luck!

ScissorChick

 

[otonoh]

WOW, Thanks for all the great answers, I think I will try them. Do you leave the light on all night for them for heat.? Has anyone used a ceramic heater used for reptiles, I have a few that I could use. I have a long galvanized tub, how tall should the sides be.

thanks

 

[ralleia]

I prefer the metal tub with a window screen top. Aquariums make me nervous because they're smaller, people seem more likely to try to close them off, AND the glass reflects heat back inward. Between all those factors (and especially if the tank gets a little sunlight), the temperature can rapidly become dangerous. No, no aquarium, especially if you're going to be away for long periods. Fishtanks are for fish!

If you're starting them out in your house, you won't need to check on the chicks hourly or anything, as long as you've got temperature stable. Fill the feed in the morning--they don't go through a whole lot of feed until they get bigger. The most critical thing is water--making sure that it is available, that the water fount doesn't get tipped over, and that the area that they drink from doesn't get full of kicked-up wood shavings and soak up all the water so that they don't get to it.

I like to set my water fount on a big flat rock to raise it above the level of the flying wood shavings. If it's too high, then I give them a shorter rock to hop up to and drink.

The only other concern would be other pets in the house. My cat never bothered the chicks (we made sure to weigh the top down with something heavy), but I made sure to keep the dog away.

 

[ralleia]

Quote:
The sides on the galvanized tub that I use are 12" tall. Overall dimensions are 38" x 18", which is big enough to get the 24 little guys/girls through their first week or two before I get tired of them throwing shavings around the house.

 

[otonoh]

after the 2-3 then what? Do they smell alot. I plan on having them in a finished basement till they are old enough to go to the coop.