I can't handle the stench!

[donrae]

Oh, a good hatch rate. I getcha now. I was thinking you'd ordered them.

Well, congratulations on the good hatch! Must be doing something right.

I can see 20ish being much more manageable. I'd continue to try to sell them, CL and a local FB for sale seem to do the trick for me. Although time of year might be working against you. Or for you, as feed stores don't have chicks yet (around here, anyway).

Good luck!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes hat is what the feed stores use. Make sure the heat lamp is secure. I use fine pine shavings and they keep smell to a minimum.

True, but they are selling them off every day and rarely have them past 2 weeks.

I also like pine shavings in my brooder but have indeed heard good things about the pellets. Haven't used them because they seen like they would be hard to walk on.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve brooded 28 chicks (mostly female) in a 3’ x 5’ brooder until they were 5 weeks old. I brooded 21 chicks (mostly male) in that 3’ x 5’ brooder until they were 5 weeks old. In both cases they were OK but the brooder was getting pretty full. One difference to your trough is that I had a wire bottom so the poop dropped straight through to bins set underneath. Keeping the brooder clean and dry was easy, just empty those bins as necessary. My brooder was in the coop.

From my experience you’ll probably be OK with that 3x8 until they are 4 to 5 weeks old. They do grow fast. Keeping it clean so it doesn’t stink can be a problem since it has a solid bottom, even in the garage. They will soon be flying out so you need a cover on it, I suggest a wire mesh cover, maybe hardware cloth or chicken wire, to keep them inside.

To me that 3’ x 8’ has a big advantage. It’s long enough so you can heat one end yet let the far end cool off. That way if the chicks get too warm they move toward the cool end. If they get too cool they move to the warm end. Even straight out of the incubator mine are really good at regulating their temperature if given the choice. And they often play in the cool end, going back to heat up when they need to.

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

I've seen some (farm store) places that use sand and a little baking soda for bedding (plus some shavings for the sleeping area) and used a cat litter scoop to spot clean. There was less of an issue with water spillage and smell from that, but I haven't used it personally and don't know how it'd be long term.