Chicks Moving Up

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

These chicks are about 3 weeks old.

They've been outside since day one on my porch with a homemade brooder plate.

Two nights ago, I noticed they had moved from sleeping under the plate to sleeping on the plate.

So I built a perch for them and they love it.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Cute! It's hard to see but is it suspended from the top of the brooder?

I was thinking of making an easy perch for mine and didn't even think of hanging it! That would be much easier than the woodworking I was going to do haha.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

Cute! It's hard to see but is it suspended from the top of the brooder?

I was thinking of making an easy perch for mine and didn't even think of hanging it! That would be much easier than the woodworking I was going to do haha.

Yes. It took me about 10 minutes to saw a scrap furring strip to length, attach wires to each end, then wire it to the top. I was interested in seeing how they would adjust to the wobbliness and swinging of the perch, but they are doing just fine. They are curious, busy, and not picking on each other. I'm really appreciating this new setup of mine this year!

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Yes. It took me about 10 minutes to saw a scrap furring strip to length, attach wires to each end, then wire it to the top. I was interested in seeing how they would adjust to the wobbliness and swinging of the perch, but they are doing just fine. They are curious, busy, and not picking on each other. I'm really appreciating this new setup of mine this year!

Perfect! I'll give this a try. I brood using a dog cage so I can easily hang some wood from there. Thank you for the idea.

 

[charmincarmen]

These chicks are about 3 weeks old.

They've been outside since day one on my porch with a homemade brooder plate.

Two nights ago, I noticed they had moved from sleeping under the plate to sleeping on the plate.

So I built a perch for them and they love it.

View attachment 3487786

I'd really like to move my little ones (2 weeks old) on the porch too. Currently they are in my bedroom

 

[Captain13]

It’s great how you are keeping up with their needs, anticipating things that make their little growing stages more interesting. I made a miniature two tier roosting bar when mine were a week or sold old and they immediately started using it. Now I’ve been transitioning them to the coop (7 weeks old) by putting them in the coop every morning and bringing them back to the brooder at night. I’m doing all this because the winds here have been at 20-30 mph for the last three days with night temps in the upper 40’s. I believe doing all the little things like you are doing helps with the transition later. Good work.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

I'd really like to move my little ones (2 weeks old) on the porch too. Currently they are in my bedroom

I spent 140 on a locally-made brooder. The guy is making a killing, there are so many people buying chicks these days. I didn't want to lose the space, have the light glowing, and the mess in the house. I actually was going to bring the brooder into the house, but there was no place for it. So the Grand Porch Experiment began.

I bought the red heat bulb to put into my clip-on light, but never used it. The homemade brooder plate has been perfect. My lowest temps have been about 30 and they've been fine. They spend very little time underneath, they have normal sleeping schedules. There has been no pecking (so no need for red light, purple paint, or endlessly throwing in things to distract them.)

They really enjoy having different levels in the brooder. It's been fun watching them navigate. Just for that alone, even without a heat source, I think I'd give them a platform on which to play. ~ Happier birds are healthier birds!

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

It’s great how you are keeping up with their needs, anticipating things that make their little growing stages more interesting. I made a miniature two tier roosting bar when mine were a week or sold old and they immediately started using it. Now I’ve been transitioning them to the coop (7 weeks old) by putting them in the coop every morning and bringing them back to the brooder at night. I’m doing all this because the winds here have been at 20-30 mph for the last three days with night temps in the upper 40’s. I believe doing all the little things like you are doing helps with the transition later. Good work.

Have you thought about putting the brooder into the coop?

I'd love to do that one day, but... the mess on it would be a nightmare. I'd have to find a solution to that.

 

[Captain13]

I converted a baby crib to be my brooder and made a wood platform over the Mama’s Heater Pad. That was their favorite place to go. In the run I made a swing that I wasn’t sure they would use, but they do and seem to enjoy it a lot. With some old short logs and other odds and ends for them to peck and scratch around they stay pretty occupied.

I agree with the “happier chicks are healthier chicks”.

 

[Captain13]

I have but my brooder won’t fit through the coop door. The high winds are supposed to stop tomorrow so I will make the move this week. I have a vertical heat plate mounted by the roosting bars if I need to use it but the temps move into the upper 50’s starting tonight and the girls are fully feathered now.