Brooding my chicks in a TENT! 🐥

[ChickyCh00k]

I had no luck with a homemade no-waste feeder with my chicks. They just couldn't reach the feed.

I think that's part of the problem here. I'm pretty sure they can  reach the feed - its very close to the cutout inside (there's really no "neck" on the part that attaches to the bucket), but they aren't keen on sticking their heads all the way into the dark hole to get at it. Maybe with time.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Tales from the Tent (Day 12):

The chicks spent a day or two less interested in me, but still visiting my lap here and there. Yesterday and today, they're back to immediately jumping up and snuggling in for a short nap. It's literally the BEST!

(little Roxy - on the top right - is in the process of rolling off, lololol) They all have to be on one side and I just don't have that much leg space!

 

[Bakbuk]

Eww, so you quit bathing?

MOONY

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Tales from the Tent (Day 16): Everyone is getting lots of new feathers. The BPRs are starting to show their stripes, and everyone is getting real scrappy - starting to figure that pecking order. In the a.m., when the lights come up, they eat and drink and fly/run around the tent; bumping into each other and having stare-offs! It's pretty entertaining. They also love jumping on top of everything (including me).


Buffy's fave spot is on top of the feeders. She's the smallest of the BOs, but also the scrapiest!

Finally starting to use the bucket feeder with some regularity!

Still loving my lap visits!

Dust Update: So far dust in the room is no worse than it was prior to the chicks' arrival (lol). However, when I sit with them, I am noticing A LOT of feather dust coming off of them as they preen themselves (it ends up in my lap!). I imagine this will start to worsen as more feathers are coming in. For now, it is all staying inside the tent. I will continue to update on this front!

The hemp bedding is still working really nicely. It stays dry, but it's getting more and more poopy of course, although there's ZERO bad odor (unlessing I'm sitting in there and someone drops a fresh cecal right infront of me. MAN! those are stinky). I use a small hand rake to turn the bedding and that helps with mixing the poo in and keeping it dry, but I don't think I can go much longer without changing it out completely (which is a big PITA). - purely because I don't like the poo to hemp ratio that's happening.

That's all my thoughts for now!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Tales from the Tent (Day 23):

All chicks are still healthy, even though they look (and act) absolutely insane. I don't knownhow anyone uses a smaller brooder - the way these chicks act up, they need every sq. ft of space I've provided .

Dust update: I'm just over 3 weeks in and I'm still not noticing an increase in dust in the room. Inside the tent and on the birds' bodies, YES! Y'all warned me about dust, but what I thought I was prepared for and very much wasn't is the POOP. I knew there'd be a lot of poop, but it has far exceeded my expectations.

I was using hemp bedding and the poop to hemp ratio got very uncomfortable very quickly. I changed the hemp a couple of times and then it started to getting stinky, so I switched to aspen bedding on Monday. The aspen seems to be less stinky, but I think the chicks are eating more of it, which makes me anxious.

One of the drawbacks of the tent is cleaning out the bedding. I thought I might be able to do deep bedding - nope - so I'm cleaning it out weekly. Huntching over to clean this tent out is hell on my back, and it takes a long time - shoveling out 64 sq.ft of bedding, hauling it out into the woods, and replacing it. My body is sore for days after.

That's the good, the bad, and the poopy so far! I'm hoping the chicks will be feathered enough, in 3 more weeks, to be able to go out to the coop! It's getting cold here in Michigan (which also makes me anxious).

 

[casportpony]

They're getting big!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

They're getting big!

It goes so fast!! You can't tell from the pic I posted, but they are looking and acting crazy these days! I think we'll all be glad when they're in the coop/run full time.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Tales from the Tent (Day 30):

The Buff Orps: Biscuit, Ginny, Wheezy, & Pippy,
and
The Barred Rocks: Remy, Loki, Roxy, & CoCo...

...Are officially 4 weeks old! I'm still quite happy, overall, with the tent brooder situation. The aspen bedding seems to be working better than the hemp for poop control (and it's 1/2 the price). Also helpful was switching from the elbow-shaped pin nipple waterer to the "+" shaped nipple waterer (keeping things much dryer).

The biggest of the bunch, Remy, has started actually biting my fingers, which I'm really not happy about and I don't know why she's doing it. She's otherwise friendly (although more apprehensive about me than the others), but if I'm just sitting with my fingers dangling, not paying attention, she nearly always gives me a nip. The others peck gently, as you'd expect, but Remy opens her beak and clamps down! Gives me a good startle every time.

Dust update: 4 weeks in and I won't say there's ZERO dust in the room, there is a very thin layer that is really quite manageable even though the chicks themselves are dropping it like its hot! I have to say, I truly believe the tent (and the air cleaner) is doing its job and keeping the dust pretty well contained.

While the chicks use the bucket feeder on occasion, I'm still reluctant to take out the baby feeder for fear they won't eat, or that they'll start picking at each other out of hunger. I think I need some reassurance that they won't starve if I take the baby feeder out...

I'm hoping to get them moved out to the coop/run area in 2 weeks, but I'm not exactly sure how to transition in the cold. I have had them outside in the 60s-70s, but now highs are only in the 50s and lows are getting into the 30s... I did not use a heat lamp in the brooder, so they're getting acclimated to the ambient temp in the house (but I haven't taken away the brooder plate yet, although I think they're roosting on top of it at night, and not actually going underneath it anymore...). Any advice on how to get them from tent to coop in about 2 weeks would be welcomed!

That's all for today! Happy Friday!!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Tales from the Tent (Day 38):

Well, it's bittersweet, but with the warm weather gods on my side here in Michigan this weekend (and into next week), I decided to move my babies to the coop/run permanently!! They spent their first night in the coop last night. Low was 50F, and I DO have a Sweeter Heater hanging above the roosts (I know, I know "supplemental heat, don't need, etc..." , but I've chosen to do it anyway, because they're still babies and it doesn't heat the coop, it heats the bird, it's not a heat *lamp* it's a radiant panel, and it's Michigan, and I needed these babies OUT of the house!!)

The time has gone by so fast, and I was a nervous wreck all last night, but they survived! They're real chickens now!

Last dust update: I made the mistake of putting a dust bath inside the tent. While the chicks LOVED it, the dust situation increased significantly. The tent did contain quite a bit of the sand dust, but because it's so well ventilated, the mesh could only do so much once dust bathing commenced. So, the very thin layer of dust I had last week, was a less thin (but still manageable) layer this week. I made it 5.5 weeks without a dustastrophe - I'm going to chalk that up as a win for the tent brooder!

Here's the Littles in their coop! The 5 in the front are actually on the shelf, and the 3 in the back are on one of the roosts. Once they're a bit bigger, and roosting proper, I'll add the 2nd roost bar (and raise the Sweeter Heater flush with the ceiling) and the shelf will hopefully serve it's intended purpose at that time.

My husband and I will be wrapping the run in plastic this weekend (keeping the top 12" open for ventilation), food and water will also be moved to the run fairly soon (I hope), and keeping fingers crossed we have prepared well enough for these babies' first winter!

Happy Saturday, y'all!

 

[emyancey]

My first ever chicks arrive in April of this year and I saw a post elsewhere about tent brooding and I am so happy I came across this thread! Thank you!