Crowded chicks?

[Jaytuti]

Hello, this is our first time raising chicks. My husband is working on building a coop himself. Its taking a little longer than expected. In the meantime they are in a bin appx 4x3 feet. I read they should have at least 1-2 feet of room per each chick? We have 5 chicks almost 4 weeks old. Is it ok to move 2 of them to another bin until coop is done? I dont know if they get lonely from not being with the others or if there will be issues when put back together?

 

[K0k0shka]

They will be alarmed by the split and will cry if you separate them. If enough time goes by that they haven't seen each other, they may not recognize each other and can get aggressive. Especially the males - at that age they start to challenge outsiders. 4 weeks and older, they really need to be outside, not in a brooder... You said he was building the coop, but how about the run? Is that done by any chance? Put priority on a safe run over the coop. If you have somewhere safe to leave them outside during the day, you can keep bringing them back to the brooder for the night. That will buy you more time to finish the coop. So work on getting them someplace to hang out outside that would be safe from daytime predators (whether the actual run, or some temporary fencing solution until the run is finished).

 

[Lemon-Drop]

That should be plenty big for now.
Your bin is 12 sq ft.
If you have 5 chicks then thats 2 feet each plus room for the waterer/feeder. You should be good on space, I would not separate them,

 

[K0k0shka]

P.S. Whether they are crowded also really depends on the breed and individual qualities of the birds... Some are lazy and just hang out, and would be fine in that kind of space, while others really want to run and jump and perch and fly, and would feel more confined and try to break out. I've had each type. But even the lazy chill ones start to get restless in a box at around 4-5 weeks, and start getting into trouble.

 

[Jaytuti]

They will be alarmed by the split and will cry if you separate them. If enough time goes by that they haven't seen each other, they may not recognize each other and can get aggressive. Especially the males - at that age they start to challenge outsiders. 4 weeks and older, they really need to be outside, not in a brooder... You said he was building the coop, but how about the run? Is that done by any chance? Put priority on a safe run over the coop. If you have somewhere safe to leave them outside during the day, you can keep bringing them back to the brooder for the night. That will buy you more time to finish the coop. So work on getting them someplace to hang out outside that would be safe from daytime predators (whether the actual run, or some temporary fencing solution until the run is finished).

Omg! Thank you So much! Especially for responding so quickly. I did separate them 5 minutes before I posted question and they were chirping louder than usual..put them back together as soon as I saw your response and they're much quieter now ♡ We actually have a nice size fenced in area we were going to use for a garden but never got around to it so are going to use that for coop and a run. We also have chicken wire to cover it to keep them safe from eagles and a couple of large tarps to cover it when it rains. I read they had to wait until they were 6-8 weeks to go outside? If its ok for them to go out now then I will definitely let them out during the day Thank you So much!

 

[Brooks_]

Omg! Thank you So much! Especially for responding so quickly. I did separate them 5 minutes before I posted question and they were chirping louder than usual..put them back together as soon as I saw your response and they're much quieter now ♡ We actually have a nice size fenced in area we were going to use for a garden but never got around to it so are going to use that for coop and a run. We also have chicken wire to cover it to keep them safe from eagles and a couple of large tarps to cover it when it rains. I read they had to wait until they were 6-8 weeks to go outside? If its ok for them to go out now then I will definitely let them out during the day Thank you So much!

What is your location/weather?

 

[K0k0shka]

Omg! Thank you So much! Especially for responding so quickly. I did separate them 5 minutes before I posted question and they were chirping louder than usual..put them back together as soon as I saw your response and they're much quieter now ♡ We actually have a nice size fenced in area we were going to use for a garden but never got around to it so are going to use that for coop and a run. We also have chicken wire to cover it to keep them safe from eagles and a couple of large tarps to cover it when it rains. I read they had to wait until they were 6-8 weeks to go outside? If its ok for them to go out now then I will definitely let them out during the day Thank you So much!

I had to do two rounds of separations recently, and it was pitiful. At around 2-3 weeks, I gave half of my chicks to a friend to keep, and the half I kept cried for almost a week. Loud, brokenhearted chirps. At a little over 4 weeks, I rehomed the males from the remaining batch, and again, the rest of them cried. So don't separate them unless you really have to - it's stressful to them.

They can go outside anytime. A broody hen will take them outside pretty much right away, regardless of weather. If they are too young and the weather is cold, they can go outside with a heat source (brooder plate or heat lamp in the coop). At 4 weeks old and at the end of May, they'll be fine outside during the day even without heat (unless you're somewhere really far north and it still gets cold... Where are you located?) Your fenced in enclosure sounds fine, so you can let them spend their days out there, nights in the brooder, until you're done with the coop.

 

[Jaytuti]

What is your location/weather?

So sorry. Haven't been on here. I'm in South New Jersey. Right now its in the low 70s during the day and 60s at night.

 

[yakitori]

I brooded 5 chicks and 3 keets (8 birds total) in a similar sized bin until they were 8 weeks old. The trick was to have them outside on the grass in a large play pen with a netting on top during the day. something like this. Only mine is 4ft high.

every day I would shift the play pen to a new location, like you would do with a chicken tractor. When it got dark, I brought them back into the brooder, where they would spend the night

I highly recommend a deep litter for your brooder. I ended up using pine pellets for the last 4 weeks of brooding, and I didn't need to change out the bedding at all.

I couldn't find a photo of my pen, but I screen capped my instagram account.
I laid several branches in there so they could roost as well.