I have 3 chicks, about 4 1/2 weeks old, 2 of which are bantams. They are not fully feathered, in fact one of the bantams who I suspect may be a roo is growing in feathers very slowly. However it seems they only use their heat source at night (I have one of the radiant heat brooders). It has been quite hot lately. Today was 92.
in my coop I have 4, 12 week old pullets. They sit under the coop in the sandy area in the heat and seem to do fine. When I'm home I let then free range and they find cool spots around the yard. However, my 3 chicks, live in the brooder inside the coop. I came home today and despite having a fan blowing the help cool the coop, all three chicks were panting heavily. I put them in a "playpen" that I build them in the yard in a shady area and they have cooled off since.
I'm worried about what to do when I'm at work this week. The "play pen" is not secure enough that I would feel okay leaving them in it all day while I am gone. I fear to leave them in the brooder in the coop because I fear they may have heat stroke.
What is the earliest age anyone has introduced new chicks to the flock, successfully? I don't know if they were removed from their brooder area if they would follow the pullets to cooler spots in the coop. I fear the pullets may hurt them, the bantam chicks are quite small. The 4 pullets seem to pay little attention to the chicks currently despite sleeping very near the brooder and seem to ignore them when they are in the playpen in the yard. However I don't know if that would change if the barriers were removed.
I figure if I have to leave them in the coop while I'm at work, I can put the fan on behind a frozen 2 litter of water to push cooler air around & unplug the brooder to reduce any excess heat. however I don't think the frozen bottle of water will last for my entire shift at work.
in hind site adding chicks to my flock in the summer was quite a bad idea
in my coop I have 4, 12 week old pullets. They sit under the coop in the sandy area in the heat and seem to do fine. When I'm home I let then free range and they find cool spots around the yard. However, my 3 chicks, live in the brooder inside the coop. I came home today and despite having a fan blowing the help cool the coop, all three chicks were panting heavily. I put them in a "playpen" that I build them in the yard in a shady area and they have cooled off since.
I'm worried about what to do when I'm at work this week. The "play pen" is not secure enough that I would feel okay leaving them in it all day while I am gone. I fear to leave them in the brooder in the coop because I fear they may have heat stroke.
What is the earliest age anyone has introduced new chicks to the flock, successfully? I don't know if they were removed from their brooder area if they would follow the pullets to cooler spots in the coop. I fear the pullets may hurt them, the bantam chicks are quite small. The 4 pullets seem to pay little attention to the chicks currently despite sleeping very near the brooder and seem to ignore them when they are in the playpen in the yard. However I don't know if that would change if the barriers were removed.
I figure if I have to leave them in the coop while I'm at work, I can put the fan on behind a frozen 2 litter of water to push cooler air around & unplug the brooder to reduce any excess heat. however I don't think the frozen bottle of water will last for my entire shift at work.
in hind site adding chicks to my flock in the summer was quite a bad idea
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