How challenging is chicken keeping?

[iluvmybabiez]

Thanks guys! 

So question about the raising of chicks -

I assume that I'll get mine sometime within the first few days of hatching. If the temperature outside is already warm (we're looking at about 85-90 in August here), how long should I wait before moving them outdoors? It seems a little odd to wean the chicks down to anywhere under 70 degrees if I'm going to be moving them outside into a coop in 80+. Or is there already some agreed-upon number of weeks that chicks should absolutely be kept indoors in a brooder?

Apologies if any of this sounds bone-headed! There's just so much to learn!

Also - if anybody else has an opinion as to whether or not a Buff Orpington might be good for a first timer, I'd really appreciate it!

I guess you could keep them outside, but you'd still need to keep them in a tote with a red heat lamp.

The chickens would need the warmth at least 95° for the first week. Even if its 80°+ outside that's still too low, maybe safe for chicks over 3wks but not newly hatched chicks.

The red heat lamp is a must, people have tried to use a lamp (white light) and usually it don't turn out so well for the chicks. I do believe the red lamp must be a 250watt.

As for buff Orpingtons, yes very good breed for beginners in my opinion. Excellent egg layers.

 

[aart]

Gotta say, right off the get go.......the '5 degrees a week' thing is not necessary for chicks.....and could be harmful, hot chicks can be sick chicks.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker integration to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later i still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate



There's a lot of info out there, some of it not quite right....and there's always multiple opinions...and multiple things can work in the right situation and not in others.
My advice is read it all, apply copious amounts of common sense, and don't jump to any absolute conclusions.

Yes, raising chickens can be easy peasy, once you've got some experience under your belt it's a piece of the best cake ever.
....BUT.....
There is a steep learning curve with all the little details that can make things difficult or easier, it's like trying to get a drink out of a fire hose sorting it all out.
It'll bend your brain.

I spent months wading thru all the advice and ideas on this forum, learning to distinguish the fallacy from the facts, identifying the people that had a good head on their shoulders and experience to boot, taking lots of notes, and planning and re-planning my coop and run. When I finally started building them I was d@mn glad I had taken the time to research first as I made most my mistakes on paper, so to speak, rather than in materials and rebuilds. Made it much more pleasant when I finally got my birds into a well planned facility to then observe and learn about all their odd behaviors..... which to worry about, which needed management and which to just laugh at.

Welcome to the Chicken World....Good cLuck and Have Fun!

 

[chicknextdoor]

Thanks guys; I've been researching for a few months and it seems like there will always be more to learn. I'll definitely poke around the forums some more and read the variety of opinions before I jump into anything!

Again, thanks for the wisdom everyone! Invaluable, to say the least!

 

[iluvmybabiez]

Yea I definitely don't think 85-90° is a good idea for a freshly hatched chicks. More around 95°, especially just hatched chicks. I've never had just born chicks get too hot, they like it hot.

To even hatch a chick you need at least a 100°, so basically you're going to need to raise them at a similar temperature, lowering it 5 degrees every week.

Better safe than sorry. I know doing this route may seem arduous for some, but its best for the chicks. I would implement the chicks to the outside world around week 4.

I have a pretty high success rate incubating my chicks and raising them, I'd say I have lost no more than 5 chicks out of like the 40 some I've incubated this last year.

Raising chicks takes patience, I'd say chicks aren't for the impatient.

Chicks are more apt to die from the cold than the heat, then again the chicks will let you know the appropriate temperature. If the chicks are shivering and huddled together, move the lamp closer. If the chicks are dispersed to the edge and panting, move the lamp up and away a tad. Use a floor thermometer.

I've never had a chick die from being too hot or too cold with the method I posted above. The only time I've ever lost a chick was from it being too weak during hatching which does happen rarely. I've also helped some hatch that have survived, even though people say you shouldn't help them.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks guys!

So question about the raising of chicks -

I assume that I'll get mine sometime within the first few days of hatching. If the temperature outside is already warm (we're looking at about 85-90 in August here), how long should I wait before moving them outdoors? It seems a little odd to wean the chicks down to anywhere under 70 degrees if I'm going to be moving them outside into a coop in 80+. Or is there already some agreed-upon number of weeks that chicks should absolutely be kept indoors in a brooder?

Apologies if any of this sounds bone-headed! There's just so much to learn!

Also - if anybody else has an opinion as to whether or not a Buff Orpington might be good for a first timer, I'd really appreciate it!

There is no reason you have to brood them indoors. My mail-order chicks go straight to the coop when they arrive. But my "coops" are more of a shed. (I actually have two of them) I have a walk-in people door, and a pop door that opens to the attached run. I use the plastic garden edging to make a circular or oval shaped place for them (you don't want corners at first because sometimes if they get scared or too chilled they can pile up and kill the bottom ones), giving them plenty of room to either be under the light or away from it, depending on the temperatures. If it's going to be 80-90* outside when you get them, it's going to be very warm in the coop. You may need to think about a way to let the hot air out while not creating a draft on the chicks. The windows in my coops can open up from the top, allowing that to happen. I don't buy into the "they must start at 90* and drop it by 5* a week" theory, either. Watch your chicks. As state above, if they're huddling under the light, they're cold - lower it. If they're trying to get away from it, they're hot - raise it. It's best if they can have enough room to choose. If it's 80-90* outside, you may get by with not having a light on them during the hottest parts of the day. Watch them. As far as lights go, I've always used the white lights and never had a problem.

Never apologize for asking questions. How else are you going to learn? This is going to be a bit like having babies for you - you're going to get lots of conflicting advice and opinions - take what works for you, and discard the rest. Some of it is just good old common sense. Here are some pictures of my chicks in their "brooder" in the coop:










These are actually two different years and two different coops. But you can see that they have enough room to roam and get away from the lights if needed. There are 50 chicks in each batch pictured. If you're only getting a few, putting them in a large tote would probably work for a week or maybe even two. It depends, too, on what you are using for a coop. If you are planning on one of those little doll houses they call coops, you could just round off the corners and put them in there. They grow fast, and in my opinion, the more room the better. Crowding causes a lot of problems.

 

[bobbi-j]

Here are a couple of pics of my coop:

 

[junebuggena]

You don't need to wait a full week for adjusting brooder temp. I adjust as my chicks grow, usually about half an inch every couple of days. I go by how my chicks act rather than 'rules.' My barred Rocks and Easter Eggers are both really good foragers.

 

[LI chickie]

I "suppose" I should have been more prepared when I brought home my 6 baby chicks April 3rd but..
Now that I've had my chicks for a few months I have no regrets. I enjoy taking care of them.

 

[chicknextdoor]

The pictures are so helpful! I'm using a shed for my coop as well (I've started on the transformation but it still needs work, so maybe I'll keep the chicks indoors for a week or two to give me time to finish the shed/coop and then move the brooder into that).

I love hearing everybody's opinions on here! It'll probably be about a month before I'm prepared (mentally and physically, lol) to get the chicks, but I'm feeling a lot more confident about it all with everyone's sage advice.

 

[bobbi-j]

The pictures are so helpful! I'm using a shed for my coop as well (I've started on the transformation but it still needs work, so maybe I'll keep the chicks indoors for a week or two to give me time to finish the shed/coop and then move the brooder into that).

I love hearing everybody's opinions on here! It'll probably be about a month before I'm prepared (mentally and physically, lol) to get the chicks, but I'm feeling a lot more confident about it all with everyone's sage advice.

If you can, get the coop done before you get the chicks. There have been so many "Help! The chicks need to go outside and the coop is not ready!" threads. Have everything in place first so that when they arrive, you have time to enjoy them. There is nothing wrong with keeping them inside, but they do smell and your house will smell like chicken poop. They also have a lot of dander and create dust in your house. (Go ahead - ask me why I know this

) By having your coop all ready to go, there won't be a mad scramble to get them out, causing you to compromise rather than have it done right the first time. Have you checked out the Coop & Run Design section of the forum? There are a lot of fancy coops there, but also a lot of good, down to earth ones, too. Lots of good advice. I took a lot of information from those when we (and by "we" I mean my poor, patient, long-suffering DH!) built our coops.