Is our brooder too small?

[HollyE]

Our 6 chicks are 10 days old. I can not believe how big they have gotten! The two bigger white leghorns can fly up on the side of their galvanized tub and sometimes completely clear it! We keep a window screen on the top. I just feel like they need room to "spread their wings" literally! Or is this set up ok? What did you all do? I can't spend money on another tub and we don't feel safe with a plastic tub bc of the heat lamp. We have the chicken coop built and set up and it is in the garage. But are they too small for that? Even if I put the heat lamp in it somehow? Thanks for any advice!

 

[CityCraft]

They'll be fine in that for another 3 or 4 weeks. The only problem with that tub is how short it is. You'll instinctively know when they need to upgrade - they'll get agitated. And they might even be ready for coop by the time they outgrow it. I think you're fine. You might want to consider covering it with chicken wire though. The chicken wire can be molded into an arc shape which will give them a little more head room as they grow.

And plastic tubs are fine with the heat lamp. Mine are about 4 weeks and they've been in a large plastic tub. The heat lamp had no effect on the plastic.

 

[Crazy Chick]

It's more than enough room for their age, you can move them to the coop at around 9-10 weeks or when they are fully feathered out. When my 6 Rhode Island Reds were feathered out most of the way (face and under the wings weren't yet) I put them in the coop with a Rubbermaid bin on its side with wood chips and hay in it and a heat lamp clamped to it, pointing into the bin because at night it was around 50 degrees and after a week I took that out and they were just fine.

 

[Fred's Hens]

99% of all chicks are brooded out in barns and coops, the world round. We brood out in the barn, even in winter. If they are secure from predators, they can be brooded in the coop anytime. As long as the correct environment is created with a heat lamp, there's no problem.

Brooding chickens indoors in a somewhat modern invention. My wife absolutely forbids it, due to the dust and smells.

 

[missnu01]

I would say outside is the way to go...just suspend the light over a spot and then let them in there...when they are hot they will meander about the coop, and when they get cold they will get under the light.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I would say outside is the way to go...just suspend the light over a spot and then let them in there...when they are hot they will meander about the coop, and when they get cold they will get under the light.

That is exactly right.

 

[huffchickens]

I have a somewhat related question. My chicks are 5 1/2 weeks old. I have eleven of them. They are very crowded in their brooder, so I got my dog cage (large 4 X 3 Ft.) and put half in there and left the other half in the original brooder. Should I not separate them. I am starting to have doubts and maybe I should just put them all in the dog cage. It is slightly bigger than the original brooder. My problem is that my coop is not ready yet. ( I know, build the coop before the chickens). However, we have had terrible weather and have been unable to finish it yet. Would you keep the flock together or keep them separate for another week or two? I can tell they were getting agitated.

 

[HollyE]

I would like to update that the chicks will be 3 weeks old on Saturday and have been in the coop for a week now. They absolutely love it. We set it up for now, in our garage, where I park. We put wood and cardboard around it to stop the draft when I pull my car in. They fly and run around all over it. I'm so thankful we decided to do that. We hung the lamp on the inside of it and even though it gets cold in the garage at night (down in the 50's at least) they are perfectly fine bc they are under the lamp and covered from any drafts. It's perfect. Although I was so worried the first night that I took the baby monitor out if my 2.5 year old room and put it in the garage in case they needed me.

 

[chelsey21211]

Lol.

 

[kazoo1111]

It's a lot bigger than mine!