HELP! I have chicks coming...

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

Hello, chicken lovers. I have a dilemma. I thought I had done all my research, but, obviously, I did not. I am really lost and would appreciate any help. It's not too late to cancel my chick order, but, I don't want to without trying.

I will be bringing home about 10 chicks in the end of the month. I am setting up a brooder. I found a picture that I will follow. It will be 2' x 4'. I saw where it only takes a few inches for a chick. I just read that after two weeks they need one square foot after that. I remember Mother brooding 100 chicks under a big red umbrella looking thing. I don't remember her ever loosing a baby chick. I wish she was still around so I could ask her. I am worried because these will be my first babies.

My plan is to make it 2' x 2' x 4', half covered with plywood, and half covered with hardware cloth so the heat from a heat lamp can get through. I will only have 8 square feet of space. Would covering half the top with hardware cloth allow enough ventilation for them? I intend to make it from plywood, and will round the corners with a piece of 1x6 because I read that chicks tend to pack into corners and can suffocate. I am debating whether I should hinge the top, or border it with 1x3's so it will set down over the box. How should I set it up?

How big should the lamp be? I know it should have a red light. Does anyone have a particular one that has worked? Do I need multiple lamps for more chicks? Are there alternate sources of heat that are safe and effective? I read about a sweater heater. I was wondering about a massage table heater. Would that be enough heat for chicks? What about the ambient temperature?

Oh, and, what about paint? Can it be painted with house paint? I was thinking I would paint all the pieces and let them completely dry and air out before assembling it. Should the paint be red, like the light?

I also have 28 chicks coming the end of the summer and need to be ready to accept them. How many brooders, or how big will it have to be to accommodate that many babies? Would it be better to have multiple brooders, or, one larger one.

I am having the nursery chicks vaccinated; do I need to vaccinate the ones I buy from individuals for Mareks and, what else? There is so much conflicting information that my head is spinning. I want my birds to be healthy, if I am going to sell them. Is there a vaccine for Fowl Pox? I have had chickens for about four years and only have a few; none have ever been sick. They are well fed, their area is clean, and they get fresh water, and plenty of shade. When it is cold, I cover the coop and run, it's only 4x4x8, and keep a light on. All I can tell you about my chirpies is they are very happy.

From my research I am finding conflicting information. I will have a new coop and run area built by then. It will be 8' x 24', and, will be the first of two. Each will have one 6' wall and one 8' wall, covered with aluminum roofing, and a sloped roof. It will have a jungle gym, various roosts, and I will close in a 4' x 4' x 8'. I don't plan on keeping all of them. I have ordered rare breeds that are unavailable in our area and will sell them when they are about 4-6 weeks old, so, I know they are healthy.

I hope I can do this. I am very excited. I love my three chickens that I have now, a German Beilefelder pair, and a gorgeous Jubilee Orpington that I will keep. I don't know if I will feel comfortable enough to hatch eggs because I don't know what I would do with the roosters.

I would appreciate any and all help. I really want some blue and green eggs. My sweet Wendigo laid beautiful green eggs but a coon killed her.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Some people have made amazing brooders.
I purchased a large stock tank and I use that as my brooder. It have housed 4 batches of chicks so far and it is doesn’t take up a lot of room when storing it.
I use a chick heat lamp from a farm store. I don’t use a thermometer for the heat, I base it on the chicks reaction to the heat.
All the chicks I have purchased came vaccinated for Mareks but I didn’t vaccinate the chicks that my broody hen hatched and raised.

 

[Xouie]

I don’t have absolute answers for you, but can give a little experience and opinion.

For instance, I don’t usually use a heat lamp. Instead I have this brooder plate. It’s super safe in that it isn’t going to fall and start a fire. I also use a ceramic heat bulb. Give them warm and cool areas of the brooder and they will sit wherever they are most comfortable. Piling in corners tends to be a symptom of being too hot or cold in the brooder.

Also re: paint — unless it’s needed for waterproofing or something I wouldn’t do it. My chicks taste EVERYTHING they can. Some are randomly pecking the wall of their brooder right now as I type. If it was painted instead of plastic I’ve little doubt they’d just peck the paint off.

A couple more non-expert comments: if your chirpies are happy and healthy, you are doing a good job. Do look at advice and ask questions, but trust yourself as well. And finally, if you do get the chicks and lose some along the journey, it doesn’t make you a bad chicken-parent. Sometimes things happen — we’ll be here for you.

Hopefully at least some of this is helpful! Enjoy your fuzzies when they arrive.

 

[SamOliverTwist]

I use a small kiddy pool from Walmart for the chicks and cover it with a wire cover when they start jumping out. I keep them in the garage until they feather out. Last time I used a red light. This time I bought an Ecoglow 1200 from Amazon, because I’m afraid of setting the house on fire with the light, and because it seems more “natural” in some way.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I would recommend doing multiple brooders for the large order if some are meat birds vs egg birds or some are standards vs bantams. Different sized chicks can sometimes run over each other basically and cause injury.

Other than that, I think the main consideration would be your convenience - do you want the brooders to be portable at all? Will you be storing them elsewhere in the winter and need to lug them somewhere then? Will one large vs multiple small be easier or harder to clean?

If you haven't seen the thread, search for "mama heating pad" on here. That's what I chose to do and it has worked out amazingly. I was leery of heat lamps - fire hazard, burn hazard for my kids, potential to overheat the birds, etc. This has been much simpler once I got it set up. The chicks can basically regulate their temp themselves with it. And they are quieter at night...like all night all we hear are little "sleep murmer" peeps.

I would NOT use red paint in the brooder - chicks go after red and peck at it. I wore a red sweater today and they went nuts! You don't want them eating paint. I am no expert on finishes, but I'd probably opt for a clear varnish over paint since it would seal the wood and dry harder than paint. Paint the exterior if you're going for a cuteness factor?

I'd opt for a hinged lid myself, since that size of lid would be awkard for me to lift and set in place over and over. But you want to make sure you have a way to open it and hold it open - having to clean one-handed while holding the lid open would be obnoxious.

Lastly, if you are planning to sell some of them later, keep track of who is and isn't vaccinated since some buyers will care. Leg bands would work. Not sure if you can vaccinate after the day they hatch and have the vaccine be effective, so I'd go with keeping track over doing a late vaccination yourself. Or offer to pay the breeder a bit extra to vaccinate on time for you.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My plan is to make it 2' x 2' x 4', half covered with plywood, and half covered with hardware cloth so the heat from a heat lamp can get through. I will only have 8 square feet of space. Would covering half the top with hardware cloth allow enough ventilation for them?

How big should the lamp be? I know it should have a red light. Does anyone have a particular one that has worked? Do I need multiple lamps for more chicks? Are there alternate sources of heat that are safe and effective? I read about a sweater heater. I was wondering about a massage table heater. Would that be enough heat for chicks? What about the ambient temperature?

Oh, and, what about paint?

I also have 28 chicks coming the end of the summer and need to be ready to accept them. How many brooders, or how big will it have to be to accommodate that many babies? Would it be better to have multiple brooders, or, one larger one.

I am having the nursery chicks vaccinated; do I need to vaccinate the ones I buy from individuals for Mareks and, what else? There is so much conflicting information that my head is spinning. I want my birds to be healthy, if I am going to sell them. Is there a vaccine for Fowl Pox?

Might want to go with a slightly larger brooder build, unless your plan is to move them out sooner rather than later. You have space for 10 up to around... 3 weeks or so. For the 28 chicks in summer (are those meat birds?) you could just add a second brooder.

You should have the entire lid open wire for ventilation, or part of a lid and part of the sides. More ventilation is good, even for chicks. The biggest mistake is thinking they need to be kept warm and trapping heat (and moisture and ammonia) inside with them.

For the heat lamp, the standard bulb at farm stores is 250W. I personally feel that that is too hot and would recommend a reptile bulb instead. Chicks need a warm and cool area, so ideally you'd want the cooler side 10F or more cooler than the warm side. I use a mama heat pad but the downside is it can't hold as many chicks as other options. I have no idea how hot a massage table heater gets or how big it is.

I would skip painting. What's the point? If it makes you happy you can paint the exterior, but it does nothing for the chicks. My chickens eat paint.

Up to you if you want to vaccinate for anything or not. Not sure if there is a fowl pox vaccine. Is your current flock vaccinated for anything? Have they had fowl pox before?

 

[wat_da_cluck]

I will be bringing home about 10 chicks in the end of the month. I am setting up a brooder. I found a picture that I will follow. It will be 2' x 4'.

For 10 chicks a very large box with a heat lamp installed in a firesafe manner should be fine. Don't overthink it, they'll only be in there 6 weeks. Does not need to be fancy. And they will peck at anything you put in there - so don't use dog pee pads or anything toxic (paint). Check out Alchemist Farm "expecting chicks" page. She also has an amazon store with favorite products I find helpful. I get my chicks later, so after the first two weeks in a small box they go in the garage in this. Its $35 and perfect to have if you ever need to seperate a bird but don't want to use a dog crate (also a good thing to have on hand btw). Or the brinsea heater if you can't rig a safe way to hang a heat lamp. Good luck! You will do great!

 

[wat_da_cluck]

How big should the lamp be? I know it should have a red light. Does anyone have a particular one that has worked? Do I need multiple lamps for more chicks? Are there alternate sources of heat that are safe and effective? I read about a sweater heater. I was wondering about a massage table heater. Would that be enough heat for chicks? What about the ambient temperature?

One lamp - has to be a HEAT lamp for chicks - and you need a reflector cone. Most people probably use the little giant brand from Tractor supply. These things fall and start fires all the time so make sure you think about how to rig it. I attached mine to my seed starting lamp supports. If the fire hazard freaks you out you can use the brinsea over the top heaters.

 

[Xouie]

For 10 chicks a very large box with a heat lamp installed in a firesafe manner should be fine. Don't overthink it, they'll only be in there 6 weeks. Does not need to be fancy. And they will peck at anything you put in there - so don't use dog pee pads or anything toxic (paint). Check out Alchemist Farm "expecting chicks" page. She also has an amazon store with favorite products I find helpful. I get my chicks later, so after the first two weeks in a small box they go in the garage in this. Its $35 and perfect to have if you ever need to seperate a bird but don't want to use a dog crate (also a good thing to have on hand btw). Or the brinsea heater if you can't rig a safe way to hang a heat lamp. Good luck! You will do great!

Oooh, I’m seriously considering getting one of those porta-brooders in case of surprise chicks.

 

[wat_da_cluck]

From my research I am finding conflicting information. I will have a new coop and run area built by then. It will be 8' x 24', and, will be the first of two. Each will have one 6' wall and one 8' wall, covered with aluminum roofing, and a sloped roof. It will have a jungle gym, various roosts, and I will close in a 4' x 4' x 8'. I don't plan on keeping all of them. I have ordered rare breeds that are unavailable in our area and will sell them when they are about 4-6 weeks old, so, I know they are healthy.

Sounds luxe - can I move in?!