Can I complain?? :P

[NanaKat]

What sacrifices we make for our babies!!!

First my 40 were in a water trough in the kitchen because of the freezing cold.
Then the trough was moved out to the hottub room with the lovebirds.

Now they are housed in the barn in a temporary pen made from a cattle rack that fits on a pick-up bed.
Every pretty day we make the trek to the 20 x 30 ' dog pen (without the dogs) for fresh grass and sunshine and then we make the trek back to the barn.
Hubby and his brother are building them a new chicken run along the south side of the barn with an entrance into the old hen house in the corner of the barn.

The wood shavings and manure make great mulch in the garden...I guess that is the pay we get for giving our chicks such good care.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

When I got my 20 CUTE chicks about 6 weeks ago, I read about the dust, but NEVER in my wildest dreams understood until now. They are in the basement from the dining room and hopefully in the coop this week. Went upstairs to the loft this past weekend and almost died from the dust and I live in a log home and everything is wood. It will take me 6 weeks to get it all cleaned up. Lesson learned, next time, a brooder in the coop or no more chicks !!!!!!

 

[purplepeep]

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one in a love/hate relationship with my chickies.

hahaha

 

[Crickett]

My coop will be done this week, then I'll get to move my 3.5 week olds out of my bedroom Just in time to have the incubator belch out the new batch!

Anybody offering free psyciatric help? I say free because all my extra money goes for my chickens!

 

[goldeneggtees]

I too have my chicks in my house but only 8, and today either because they are getting too small for their brooder or they ate something, they had poop everywhere. Boy what a stink!

They are also peeping so loudly, it's keeping us all awake but we still have to fix up our exiting coop and run electric out there. I'm exhausted, I wonder to myself - can I handle this?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Are you using a red light so that your chicks can sleep when your family does? Also, keep in mind peeping (especially loud peeping) can be a sign of being too hot or too cold.
I didn't look to see where you live, but do you think you'll need electricity right away for heat? Mine were off their heat lamp in early May and they were raised outside.

 

[debakadeb]

Okay...I think I'm a little fortunate. I've never had them in my bedroom and am positive I don't want them there. Most of our upstairs goes unused so that is where the baby brooder goes. It has a lid, so no flying out unsupervised. When they get about 3-4 weeks old, they go to the larger brooder (also has a lid) which is down in the basement - unfinished so it things get a little dusty or stinky it's not a huge deal for me. However, when my 21 babies got to be 5 weeks old, they had to the outside nursery that has a dirt floor. I couldn't take the smell anymore...plus they were so rowdy they were constantly spilling their water.

Right now I have the 21 in the outside nursery getting used to the bigger chicks, 8 babies downstairs (they are cornish rock so will get large fast), and 4 BR's upstairs. Since there are only four of them, I think they will be okay until they can go out with the 21. There is only 3 weeks difference in age.

 

[Brindlebtch]

I asked hubby if I could put the chicks in a brooder on the dining room table and he said 'We've had worse things on the table' (ie racccoon kits, baby squirrels, ducks and geese). Well, that was 9, count 'em 9, weeks ago and now they have graduated to a 4x6 hay filled pen on a tarp on the dining room floor!

He and a friend framed the roof of the hen house yesterday and maybe in 2-3 more weeks I'll have a hen house. I have to admit I'm ready for them to put on their big girl pants and go outside! This is a very overbuilt hen house because they want it to be able to withstand hurricanes since we live on the Gulf Coast and just went through Ike.

Shoot, put a window a/c unit in there and I could rent it out as a B&B.

 

[chickenshagg]

I,m new to all of this. I started building a coop before I got the birds but then I was told that the feed stores quit selling chickens after Easter. So I quickly built a brooder box and the next day went and picked up 4 barred rocks and three red sex links. They have been in the basement for a little more than two weeks and they are three weeks. I have had no odor problems but cleaned the old shavings out tonight and replaced with fresh. just to be healthy. My sons room is in the basement and he has no complaints.YourLinkGoesHere

 

[goldeneggtees]

Quote:
Are you using a red light so that your chicks can sleep when your family does? Also, keep in mind peeping (especially loud peeping) can be a sign of being too hot or too cold.
I didn't look to see where you live, but do you think you'll need electricity right away for heat? Mine were off their heat lamp in early May and they were raised outside.

Hi, they are getting older now around 5-6 weeks and I believe the temp needs to be around 70-75 for them. It's still chilly here at night, we are in the northeast (Long Island to be exact). So, I'd rather not have them in the coop just yet, especially without a heat source. And yes, I definitely believe the light was keeping them awake some nights but right now I think the problem is they are getting too big for their brooder, so I am getting a large cardboard box today and will switch them later. It's so hard getting the right fit for them, they grow so fast!