can you raise the chicks in your house?

[Mofarmgirl]

Great advice here..not much more I can add except to agree that yes LOTS of people raise them inside, and the benefit it that you will have layers next spring when others have only peeps

 

[jbgettinchickens]

I want to thank everyone for the great advice and for welcoming me to the group. I ordered the chicks! The plan is to keep them in the house until I can't stand it, then move them to the garage, then the coop.
Thanks again,
Becca

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
Good luck with your babies! You are really going to love them. Good to have you here!

 

[WisconsinChickenWhisperer]

Good luck and have fun! I raised mine in the house until they were 4 weeks old, then to the coop with a heat lamp until they were fully feathered, then heatlamp only at night (at the time, our evenings here were quite chilly-even in July/August), then no heatlamp at all and full access to the outside run. It did start to get a little smelly and dusty, but I just had to up the housekeeping a bit until they were moved.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Looks like you already got plenty of input, but I'll just say I've always raised my chicks in my room--for the last eleven years--and never had a problem. I like having them in my room, to be honest! I have seven chicks, two keets, and a mama serama hen in my room right now.

Good luck raising your chicks, I hope you have fun with them!

 

[chick4chix]

Yes you can do it and I agree with everyone here on the amount of dust. It is impossible to tell you how much there is- and we had only 6 chicks. I had them in a cardboard box with pineshavings and heatlamp then when they could fly out of there (2 weeks) I put them in a walk-in shower that had a 5' slider glass door on it- I covered the drain with duct tape and filled the floor with pine shavings and hung the brooder/heat lamp from the shower head (after I duct taped the handle so it could not be accidentally turned on). The bathroom was quickly off limits from the family due to the "farm smell" and I am a neat-nik and changed the litter daily. I could hardly wait until they were old enough to go out I was so over the dust and smell- which started to permeate into adjacent rooms. Would I do it again- YES! This photo is my grandaughter next to the shower door with her favorite on her shoulder- they could slide the shower open and the girls would come out and get treats and became very tame.
By the time they were 4 weeks old - I moved them out and had to heat their ark and cover it at night but I couldnt take the mess anymore. It took me 3 hours to clean the bathroom after they were out- walls need washing- everything gets covered with dust- it clings like talcum powder. But... the experience was well worth the effort and my grandkids will have those memories forever- when they held baby chicks from grama's shower-

 

[mandelyn]

I finally got smart and had husband build a GIANT brooder box with screen lids. My coop is great, for big birds. Not so much for babies. So they'll be in the house awhile. I chose the basement, since it stays a stable temp better than the rest of the house, no one lives down there, and there's a door close by to remove bedding without tracking it all through the house when I clean it.

Used to be they grew out of the brooder quickly, and had to go outside. With mine hatching... yesterday, they'll be outside ready as soon as it gets cold. So I've made winter friendly arrangements for them, in the brooder that will be big enough for 8 weeks, then dog crates, then as soon as it's warm, the big girl house outside.

I bought my hens before my coop was done... but I have a shed with a dog kennel attached to it that came with the house, so it wasn't bad keeping them there temporarily after I got a roof on the run.

 

[Pelican49]

Quote:
We were going to wait until spring, but just couldn't. Besides mine will be laying next summer instead of just feathering out. LOL. We did get a bit carried away. I ordered 33 chicks from Welp and received 38. They hatched the 13th and arrived on the 15th. As of today, they are 6 days old and all 38 are alive and peeping. We have them in a pack 'n play with trash bags lining the outside to keep the drafts out and the heat in. And they have a red heat lamp. I'll probably keep them in longer than 5 weeks, but will have to find something bigger to put them in by then.

 

[Casamommy]

Go for it! I raised my first chicks indoors in our loft above the livingroom. The "stinky mess" was kept at bay by twice daily attention to cleanliness (besides, lol, it was a good time to talk to my chicks and spend time hanging out with the little cluckers).