Chicks in the house

[Quyen Le]

I can't smell anything but my wife, she can't stand the smell.

 

[spotsplus]

dust was the worst part for me. I did enjoy having them in the house though and I changed the litter every day.

Tammie

 

[mtnviewfarms]

I routinely grow out chicks from day old - some I hatch out myself from my own birds and others I order from a hatchery so I can get all pullets. My last order of 50 chicks was too late and too cold so, sadly, I lost many of them before they arrived - won't order as late from now on.

Anyway, I ended up with 42 chicks which I divided up into three of the HUGE clear storage bins - hard plastic with lids - that I got at Walmart - for $12 each. I have one of those red bulb heat lamps with the metal protector that holds the bulb and it attaches to the rim of the bins. I have one of these
heat lamp setups for each bin in which the chicks are housed.

I always keep chicks in the house in these easy to clean reusable clear plastic bins until they are two weeks of age and then they are transferred to the outdoor brooder that is located in my chicken house.

I'll probably get 'slammed' for saying this but I only use newspaper on the floor of their 'pre-brooders' and use a block of wood both the feeder and the
waterer to keep them as clean as is possible with chicks.

I roll up the newspaper every morning and use an empty chicken feed bag as my 'trash can' for their waste. I have NEVER had a problem with smell as
long as I keep to my daily a.m. schedule for cleaning their boxes. Some of the feed escapes the newspaper so I scoop that up by hand so it dosen't
get musty/moldy - I ALWAYS WEAR THE THIN RUBBER GLOVES THAT ARE ONE USE ONLY.

With only 6 chicks you should have no issue with smell at least for the first two weeks. After that you will want to transfer them to another more
permanent brooder - like in your garage or chicken coop/house.

This 'system' has worked very well for years for us. I like having them in the house the first two weeks so if they have 'pasty butt' I can intervene early and/or monitor for any other issues that can occur early in the chicks lives.

I also have great experience with putting a small amount of Apple Cider Vinegar - needs to be unpasturized 'with the mother' - in each of their waterers
daily. I continue to do this throughout my chickens lives and have not yet had any illnesses or problems with my birds.

 

[Tomtommom]

I can't smell anything but my wife, she can't stand the smell.

I thought you said you can't smell anything but your wife.. that's not very nice!

I've got two cats and they smell to high heaven's, don't notice until I have been gone for several hours, then it stinks *laugh* And the baby.. woooo. Two years ago I had four pups with worms in my living room... I'm pretty used to stench.

 

[Lizab1205]

my first hatch I had 6 chicks. I cleaned out the bedding once every 3 days and they didn't smell... But the more you have the faster it smells.. now that I'm better at hatching I slip them up into different brooders. Helps a lot! just whenever you notice that smell... clean it out