Excited to become a part of this community!

CityCraft

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 3, 2013
47
0
24
Dallas, TX
For years, I've gardened and grown my own food, but this is definitely my next step in creating my little urban farm. I'm so excited to start this journey! I just picked up my chicks: two Golden Comets and two Barred Rocks. They are adjusting well! Now I'm finalizing my coop plans. I'm so glad that I consulted the boards first before starting to build. I'm planning to use the All-In-One coop design from the book Building Coops for Dummies. I read here that some of the measurements are incorrect so I'll be sure to be careful when constructing. I also plan to make some adjustments like a taller run and raising the shelter higher off the ground.

I'm a little nervous about making sure that my chicks get off to a good start. Regulating the temperature has been a challenge. The thermometer doesn't seem to register very well, so I've just been watching their response. Moving the heat lamp further away if they seem to be migrating to the brooder edges, or vice versa.

They're definitely skittish and scared of me still at this point, but a few have been eating out of my hand so that's a good sign. It's funny to see their different personalities emerging! The Comets are definitely less shy and love to eat. The Barred Rocks seem to be more reserved and a bit more inclined to nap than anything else.

My labrador Molly is VERY interested in watching over the babies. She goes crazy if I don't let her in the room to check on them. She's acting like a mom! I let her peek in the brooder but don't let her stay around so that the babies don't get scared.

It's the start of something special!

Cal
 
Greetings from Kansas, Cal, and
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! Pleased you joined us!! You are correct, chickens are the start of something special. My dog (in my avatar) was also keen on investigating the baby chicks - curious - licked them all over, then ignored them. As they grew he is now their guardian. In terms of temp in the brooder, the chicks will move in and out of the heat so they will be comfortable. Good luck to you and have fun!!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
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Just keep hand feeding the little ones, they'll come round. It's instinctive behaviour, this being so scared of us. Mine are at that stage now too. Don't worry about having the brooder temperate spot on. The recommended 95* for the first week is just a guide. The chicks' behaviour will tell you if they are too hot or cold. As long as they are spread around comfortable leave them. If they avoid sitting under the heat lamp and stick to the outer edges, it's too warm and if they huddle together under the lamp it's too cold.
When I hung the heat lamp over my brooder the (just hatched) chicks were quite comfortable and happy, so I left it. Later when I measured the temp out of curiosity it was barely 80*!
 
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from New Mexico!

The chicks will get used to you. Just keep handling them a lot during their first 6 weeks and eventually you won't be able to stop them from climbing all OVER you. Enjoy the new babies!
 

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