Can this be used to brood chicks?

[Lel's Lil Acre]

Hi everyone, myself and my daughter are taking the plunge into chickens next year! I plan on getting 10 Easter Eggers. I am brand new to chickens and live in Northern Michigan so it gets pretty cold in the winter, but some people who raise chickens suggested Auracanas(sp) or Easter Eggers as I started up a conversation with them about the colored eggs they were selling which I thought was pretty neat. My questions are:
1) Can this be used to brood 10 EE's (first on top and then opening the hatch so they have access to the bottom as well(I plan on replacing the door with hardware cloth and using a heating pad mother hen with sand in the trays)

2) How long do you think it could feasibly hold 10 birds of their size? I want to start chicks as early as I can for egg purpuses, but it gets brutal here in winters so I'm not sure I want to just kick the fuzzy butts out into the coop right away and will plan my order date in accordance to when it gets a bit milder and they can go out while keeping them in as long as possible. (I read in multipul places that the hens which is what I am ordering get about 4.5-5lbs, is this true?)

Thank you in advance and we are excited about the chicks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally wouldn't use it. When are you getting chicks? Brooder can be as simple as a cardboard box or kiddie pool to a home made box. Do you plan on using a heat lamp or heat plate? Do you have a shed that will be the coop?

Here in Wisconsin I wait until May to get chicks. I brood out in a shed with a heat lamp in a wooden brooder bios. Often they can go outside in the first few weeks in a temporary fence for the day. Get them too soon and you will have to brood them longer.

I find chicks get restless at 2 weeks and again from 4-6 weeks and require more room at these ages.

Your chicks will be over crowded in that rabbit hutch pretty early and they aren't cheap in price.

 

[junebuggena]

Chicks double in size each week, and their space needs double along with them. A very basic general guideline for brooder space is as follows-
week 1 - 1/4 sq ft per chick
week 2 - 1/2 sq ft per chick
week 3 - 1 sq ft
week 4 - 2 sq ft
week 5 - 4 sq ft
week 6 - 8 sq ft
At that point, they should be sufficiently feathered to move outdoors full time.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[Smuvers Farm]

 

[blackdog043]

You don't need, but you might want something like that. It might work until they are 4 - 6 weeks old. I would use a large cardboard box if you want to keep them inside and use the money saved on your coop. Since you are gonna use the momma heat pad, you could raise them in the coop, even in the cold climate you have. It's been done and happens all the time with broody hens in a coop. Just keep them inside your house/garage for the first few days, so you can keep a better eye on them to make sure their doing good.

 

[peeper89]

u got coop ready for nex year? u can brood in coop not have to have brood house then make plan for future chicken an build grow pin wth little coop that can b use for other thing like sick chicken

 

[Lel's Lil Acre]

Thank you all! And no I don't have anything (but the bunny hutch which i got for $10) yet as I plan on shopping the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals (hopefully!). My set up is going to be simple to start, the largest store coop I can get my hands on (I'm not crafty in that way unfortunately) which will go inside a 10x10x6 galvanized dog run which will get a reinforced galvanized roof and fencing staked down 2 feet up and 3 feet out around it. I can't fully free range safely as I have neighbors who let a dog roam, along with hawks and eagles, but they will get supervised range time, and their pen will more likely then not be expanded rapidly.

 

[lazy gardener]

I strongly, emphatically, urgently urge you to NOT buy a pre-fab coop. You will be greatly disappointed in it. The MINIMUM recommendation is for 4 s.f. of floor space in the coop per bird. Ventilation recommendation is for 1 s.f. in coop per bird. The pre-fabs simply do not meet those needs. They are constructed of inferior materials, not structurally sound, lack proper ventilation, are usually not tall enough to allow what ventilation is there to work without putting the birds in a draft, and not tall enough to allow for proper litter management, especially in colder climates. Better to buy and re-purpose a shed if you can't build your own. I'm a 61 y.o. biddy, and in the last 5 years have built 1 coop, 2 tractors, and a green house. If I can do so, I imagine that it's not outside the capabilities of most determined/stubborn home owners. Here's a good book that outlines basic construction details. Whether you are building a shed, coop or dog house, the details and methods are pretty much the same. : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/sh...d=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP1948&k_clickid=3x1948

This time of year, the local box building supply stores may be marking down their sheds to move them out of their parking lots. You just might find quite the bargain. I urge you to get your coop and set it up, THEN get your chicks, and brood them right in the coop.

 

[Lel's Lil Acre]

I strongly, emphatically, urgently urge you to NOT buy a pre-fab coop. You will be greatly disappointed in it. The MINIMUM recommendation is for 4 s.f. of floor space in the coop per bird. Ventilation recommendation is for 1 s.f. in coop per bird. The pre-fabs simply do not meet those needs. They are constructed of inferior materials, not structurally sound, lack proper ventilation, are usually not tall enough to allow what ventilation is there to work without putting the birds in a draft, and not tall enough to allow for proper litter management, especially in colder climates. Better to buy and re-purpose a shed if you can't build your own. I'm a 61 y.o. biddy, and in the last 5 years have built 1 coop, 2 tractors, and a green house. If I can do so, I imagine that it's not outside the capabilities of most determined/stubborn home owners. Here's a good book that outlines basic construction details. Whether you are building a shed, coop or dog house, the details and methods are pretty much the same. : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/sh...d=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP1948&k_clickid=3x1948

This time of year, the local box building supply stores may be marking down their sheds to move them out of their parking lots. You just might find quite the bargain. I urge you to get your coop and set it up, THEN get your chicks, and brood them right in the coop.

Thanks for the advice on the shed! I'm going to go that route instead