How much time do I have to build the coup?

[Dr.Doorlock]

I have 7 chicks that are about six weeks old sharing a 2 1/2' x 3' x 1' tall brooder made of 1/2" hardware cloth. I've already applied one coat of "no Peck" and it seems to have helped. I think I will need to give them another treatment because I'm concerned their pecking is because they are sharing too small a space. In two weeks I have three days to build the coup and run. I have made the 6 nesting boxes which are modular and can easily be installed in the coup (see them at my site at http://mysite.verizon.net/reswuzne/index.html ), so I have no fear of completing their new home on the long weekend.

Another concern is they have been under the brooding light 24/7 since I got them. Do they need darkness? The weather has been cold lately, so I can't let them be without the heat. Using the brooder lamp and keeping them in the garage has been their protection of not falling below 50 degrees. We brought the cage in last night when the temp got down to 24 F. I worry that the bulb might burn out and they would be in 40 degree cold.

Can many of you answer my concerns?

 

[Mahonri]

Get your coop built.

If they are feathered, you don't need a brooder light anymore, but you can leave it on during the day so they have a corner to get warm if they need it.

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

I appreciate your reply. I'm using a 125 watt brroder lamp. I was shocked to read some chicks were kept at 96 degrees, but I was happy to read the space is okay for a short while. They are full feathered except for a few places which need to heal.

 

[Chicken Woman]

I was using 250 heat lamp (2 weeks old) and they were to hot. Changed to 100 watt and they are better.

 

[TXmom]

Are you using a white or red heat lamp bulb? I bought a 250 watt red bulb, and put it on a dimmer so I could control the heat. I read that white light 24/7 would make them more likely to pick.

 

[waynesgarden]

Dr.Doorlock :

I appreciate your reply. I'm using a 125 watt brroder lamp. I was shocked to read some chicks were kept at 96 degrees, but I was happy to read the space is okay for a short while. They are full feathered except for a few places which need to heal.

Day old chicks are kept at 95 degrees the first week only. Then, the process is to lower the temp by 5 degrees each week.

If you are keeping 6 week old birds at 95, that might contribute to picking. Also the over-crowded conditions will contribute. Also 24/7 bright lighting could.

All combined, I suggest not waiting another two weeks to start your coop. If you have weekends available, get started today. Or at least, find a refrigerator carton to put them while you wait since serious pecking is a problem that you may have to live with until you cull them (or they cull themselves.)

I always advise people to have their secure coop built before they even order the chicks because, either through procrastination or unforseen issues arising, very often people find themselves in your situation with birds needing housing and nowhere to put them.

Those are very nice nest boxes, though you will only need two for so few chickens. You won't need them for about 4 or 5 months. The coop you need now.

Wayne

[edited for spelling]​

 

[flakey chick]

In my very slow coop building process, I built the pen/run portion first so they could go out during the day. They would come back in at night to sleep in their brooder until I finally finished the house portion.

 

[ibpboo]

Let your chickies outside starting with short periods of time. Increase it each day, watching to see if they seem cold and bring them in when they appear too cold. I had my 5 chickies outdoors, no light or heat. It would be 50-60, during the day and got into the 30's at night, by the time they were almost fully feathered. Even when they were just a few days old, I would take them outside to play and take dirt baths, for very short periods of time, starting with about 10-15 minutes, and they adapted very quickly. But, this was summer, not winter. Yup, it had gotten to 30* during the summer at night.

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

Thanks to all for your kind advise. I thought they were much more fragile The weather is better here. I should have my girls basking in the sun with grass under foot and a tree in their run they can perch on within a week or two.

 

[cmom]

I used a regular incandescent bulb in my brooder lamp. When my chicks were about a month old I put them in my nursery coop with the brooder lamp. When they're babies they mainly eat, sleep and poop. The light doesn't seem to bother them. When they get to around two months old, I change the light to a Red incandescent bulb. They also have a run. They go into and out of their coop all day long. I shut them in at night. Careful of the tree in your run. I had a run built around some apple trees and a tree was fairly close to their fence, some flew up into the tree and over the fence. I put a net over their run because they were getting in my gardens and scratching up everything tearing it up and scratching in my mulch pile and spreading it out. I moved their run. Now they have a covered run for shade too.