Chick housing

[max13077]

Hello everybody,

I have a question about the housing I’m thinking about for the chicks I plan to order in a couple weeks or so. Right now I have a 36X19X16 plastic tote that I plan on keeping them in inside my house for the first little while. I plan on building a bigger house for them as they grow. I have a few sheets of plywood that I plan to make a house about 6’ long by 4’ wide by 3.5 or so feet deep. Then they will be transferred into my “super coop”

that I will hopefully have built around the beginning of May or so whenever it‘s safe for them to be outside.

My question is about the second house, the plywood one. It would have to be out in my garage. I live in Upstate, NY. It's still can be pretty cold in March and even April. Would it be safe to have them out there if I had a big heat lamp for them? How warm would it have to be?

Thanks!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Depends on how old the chicks will be when you have it in the larger brooder. Just figure it by age. Start at about 95 deg on week one, and subtract 5 deg every week from that on. Thus, if they are 3 weeks old when you put them in the big brooder, make sure the temps are at least 80 deg. If it's big enough, it will be fine if the light is 95 under the hottest part, as they can move away from the light. Make sure there are no drafts and they will be fine! Be careful to hang the light high enough so you don't start a fire.