Can Someone "Approve" My Brooder Plans?

[aart]

When do you discontinue the heat plate? I'm starting my chicks in the spare bedroom because the weather has been a bit nasty. In the teens at night and maybe up to 35 or 40 in the daytime, But an extremely cold NE wind howling thru. Hopefully in a few weeks the temps will raise a bit.
I've made a brooder pen for them with a dog x-pen, and thought I'd move the whole set up out to the coop in a few weeks.

Same time you'd discontinue a lamp.
Does your coop have power?
Is it blocked from wind inside?
Lots of variables to consider.

 

[matt swenson]

dude ..cardboard box, a pin up light shavings a couple of saucers. done. but we are clearly on a different emotional playing field when i comes to chickens. No judgment, no worries. One thing i think that been left out of this brooder post, regardless if five star accommodations or a refrigerator box. if your brooder is in your home or basement, those little buggers are dust makers. before they are ready to go outside every surface will be covered in shavings, tiny feathers and "chicken dust" ( which is feather, dried poop, grain dust, etc ... ) All those little wings fan it all over the place. unless it's an empty space you can easily vacuum;I recommend walling off with plastic the area where you set up you brooder. "chicken dust" is a great food for mold and mildew, so if your basement get damp in the summer, it becomes a breeding ground. just my 2 cents from personal experience.

 

[aart]

One thing i think that been left out of this brooder post, regardless if five star accommodations or a refrigerator box. if your brooder is in your home or basement, those little buggers are dust makers.

That's for sure!!
I finally got the Cadillac brooder and then started brooding in coop one week after hatch.

 

[k9grammy]

It will have power (thru an extension cord) and yes it is blocked from the wind. It is a plastic storage shed that I've used for garden equipment in the past. I'm going to cut some window slots for better ventilation and I'll hang a shade cloth on the west side to help keep the heat down in the summer, but they will have a nice yard with several bushes which chickens in the past have claimed for their own. I keep going back and forth should I start them inside or go ahead and put them in the shed. Since some said they had finished their coop with the chicks inside, I'm thinking that might be a better idea. The nice part of having them in the spare bedroom for those first week or so, is I get to sit and watch them and it is comfortable for me. I'm a bit long in the tooth and being comfortable while I watch the babies is a big plus.