Is it too late in the season?

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We do have a detached garage that has electricity, I could put them in there till they're old enough to be in the coop without any supplemental heat
 
torretornado said:
I'm new, totally new, that's why I'm asking. I was planning on trying to get them locally to avoid mailing.

We will be building a coop and run, we want 4-5.

I was planning to brood them outside, after researching, I was not planning to heat the coop.

I'm flexible to change my plan as needed. We use central heating and do not have a wood stove. If we brood inside it would be my finished basement.
Click to expand...


Get your coop built before you order the chicks. Life to often gets in the way of construction schedules. I’m not sure where you will get them locally, but local supply is a good plan any time of the year.

You mentioned chicks. If they are newly hatched you do not need to heat the entire coop but you do need to heat one area. To me the best way is to heat one fairly small area that they can go to when they need to warm up but let the rest cool off as it will. I sometimes have frost in the far reaches of my brooder on really cold days but they have a warm spot to go to. If they are six weeks or older you should not have to provide any heat at all. By six weeks they should be fully feathered and able to handle really cold temperatures.

There are many different ways to provide heat. I use heat lamps, some people use heating pads, some use other methods. I know I’m repeating but the basic idea is to heat one area and let the rest cool off so they can self-regulate where they want to be. That way you don’t have to worry about overheating them or it being too cold. One area warm enough, one area cool enough, and you are good to go.

I never brood inside the house but many do. The potential problems are the dust, the noise, and a smell. Not everyone that broods in their house has all or even any of these problems, but the potential is there.

I was going to suggest you go to your state thread to chat with your neighbors about the availability of chicks or chickens but I saw you are already there. If you just want chickens what you probably want are Point of Lay (POL) pullets. These are probably 16 weeks old or maybe a little older and not that far away from laying, though this time of year who can really say when they will start. I have no idea what they will cost, they are probably not cheap, but at that age you know for sure they are pullets and you don’t have to worry about heating them at all.

Good luck!
 
Ridgerunner said:
Get your coop built before you order the chicks. Life to often gets in the way of construction schedules. I’m not sure where you will get them locally, but local supply is a good plan any time of the year.

You mentioned chicks. If they are newly hatched you do not need to heat the entire coop but you do need to heat one area. To me the best way is to heat one fairly small area that they can go to when they need to warm up but let the rest cool off as it will. I sometimes have frost in the far reaches of my brooder on really cold days but they have a warm spot to go to. If they are six weeks or older you should not have to provide any heat at all. By six weeks they should be fully feathered and able to handle really cold temperatures.

There are many different ways to provide heat. I use heat lamps, some people use heating pads, some use other methods. I know I’m repeating but the basic idea is to heat one area and let the rest cool off so they can self-regulate where they want to be. That way you don’t have to worry about overheating them or it being too cold. One area warm enough, one area cool enough, and you are good to go.

I never brood inside the house but many do. The potential problems are the dust, the noise, and a smell. Not everyone that broods in their house has all or even any of these problems, but the potential is there.

I was going to suggest you go to your state thread to chat with your neighbors about the availability of chicks or chickens but I saw you are already there. If you just want chickens what you probably want are Point of Lay (POL) pullets. These are probably 16 weeks old or maybe a little older and not that far away from laying, though this time of year who can really say when they will start. I have no idea what they will cost, they are probably not cheap, but at that age you know for sure they are pullets and you don’t have to worry about heating them at all.

Good luck!
Click to expand...


This helps tremendously! Thank you!
 
Ok, so, going to talk this one through to make sure I understand it correctly.

Dog crate, wrapped with tighter chicken wiring to prevent chicks from escaping, solid flooring of some sort, hay/bedding over that.

Use wiring and electrical tape to cover any sharp areas, form a "cave-like" structure. Add a flexible heating pad and then some hay over the cave. Water and food that is accessible to the chicks, enough space for them to venture out into the crate when needed.

Does that sound right?
 
torretornado said:
Is it too late in the season to get chicks? I'm in MA, I've read chickens don't do well with extreme temp changes, would I be better off waiting till Spring?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's too late. Nature doesn't hatch chicks this time of year in MA. Here's an idea. Lots of breeders hatched lots of chicks last Spring. Now they have spent the year growing them out and are now downsizing their flocks for overwintering. Choose your breed(s) and contact local breeders thru their National Club. Or the newspaper Poultry Press. ( see their website). Most all the National Clubs have a Breeder' Directory on their websites. Contact the breeder(s) and explain you would like some nice "started birds" Buy a trio (2females, 1 male) or a quad(2males, 2 females). You'll pay a bit more but redeem all the months you lost before deciding to buy birds. Plus, you will get birds which have been special raised by the breeder and inspected for quality. And be on time to start hatching with the rest of us next Spring. The best winter layers are hatched in Feb. , and March. Birds grow larger when they are hatched in the Spring and grow according to the natural seasons.
Best,
Karen in western PA, USA
 
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When you pick a breed, look for a rosecomb or cushion comb. They don't freeze as easily. Also build a Woods Open Air coop. See the discussions on them in the Building Coops forum. You shouldn't have to heat the coop if it is a Woods Coop. See the book by Dr. Prince Woods, readable online at Hathi Trust Digital Library website.
The book incudes the science, physics, philosophy, and measured drawings behind this fantastic coop.
Best,
Karen
 
Other winter reading: Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Do a topic search on: Fermented feed. Deep litter in coop and run. Go to the learning center. Lots of info there on every conceivable topic re: poultry and management. Realize that there are many different husbandry styles. Read the threads regarding various topics. That way you will develop an eye towards what you might run into, and you will also start to get an idea of what type of management you will provide. As long as the birds are kept healthy, as well as keeping their environment healthy, all is well. Over crowding, bringing in birds from other flocks, not culling sick or suffering birds, pampering the birds with inappropriate "treats" are some of the more common mistakes folks make. Space requirements: 1 s.f./bird in the brooder. 4 s.f./bird in the coop. 10 s.f./bird in the run. These are the minimum space recommendations for a healthy back yard flock. If you intend to be adding to the flock with new chicks, older birds, or intend to have a roo, I recommend even more space than that. It's a good idea to set your coop up with an area where you can brood chicks right in the coop even when you have adult birds. Never plan to hatch chicks unless you have an exit plan for roos. My first year, I spent the summer and winter researching, planning the coop and brooder, and building an incubator. Then I hatched some and got some more chicks in Feb, brooded them in the basement in a tractor that I made (dual purpose building, excellent use of resources.) while turning my attention to the coop build.
 
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