is this Brooder okay for 15 baby chicks until older? New to chickens

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

hello chickie friends,

Pretty new here not sure if I’m doing this right. I was wondering if this set up I have is okay to house 15 baby chicks until they get bigger? I’m going to rig a heat lamp to hang over. Tips, suggestions?
Thank you

 

[DobieLover]

hello chickie friends,

Pretty new here not sure if I’m doing this right. I was wondering if this set up I have is okay to house 15 baby chicks until they get bigger? I’m going to rig a heat lamp to hang over. Tips, suggestions?
Thank you

It will last about a 4-6 days before they will want/NEED something bigger with better air circulation.
Do you already have your coop setup? If so, brood them in the coop using a brooder plate with a towel thrown over it to make it like a cave instead.

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

It will last about a 4-6 days before they will want/NEED something bigger with better air circulation.
Do you already have your coop setup? If so, brood them in the coop using a brooder plate with a towel thrown over it to make it like a cave instead.

Oh wow so fairly quick!

so the coop is a huge shed, I have yet to take measurements inside but it is for sure 10x10 maybe bigger. The weather has been really wacky here in IL. Just had -21° weather and now it’s back up to 40s-50s. I am worried about putting them out there alone, I just feel with my luck I’d wake up and something bad will have happened I think I will go today to maybe look at stock tubs or just consider 2 bigger totes larger then the 105qts

 

[DobieLover]

Oh wow so fairly quick!

so the coop is a huge shed, I have yet to take measurements inside but it is for sure 10x10 maybe bigger. The weather has been really wacky here in IL. Just had -21° weather and now it’s back up to 40s-50s. I am worried about putting them out there alone, I just feel with my luck I’d wake up and something bad will have happened I think I will go today to maybe look at stock tubs or just consider 2 bigger totes larger then the 105qts

The recent arctic blast most of the country experienced is not the norm and we should be past any more of them for the season.
I brooded chicks in my shed to coop conversion in a NY spring. The temps got as low as 23 when they were less than a week old and everyone did just great.

When are your chicks coming?

I wouldn't give them access to the entire coop until they are around 3 weeks old. Just partition off about 2 or 3 feet of the end of it and keep them there. Put the brooder plate at one end of the space and the food and water at the other end. I also highly recommend making a baby bottle as pictured above as it keeps the water clean and the coop bedding much drier.

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

The recent arctic blast most of the country experienced is not the norm and we should be past any more of them for the season.
I brooded chicks in my shed to coop conversion in a NY spring. The temps got as low as 23 when they were less than a week old and everyone did just great.View attachment 3399995View attachment 3399996View attachment 3399997

When are your chicks coming?

I wouldn't give them access to the entire coop until they are around 3 weeks old. Just partition off about 2 or 3 feet of the end of it and keep them there. Put the brooder plate at one end of the space and the food and water at the other end. I also highly recommend making a baby bottle as pictured above as it keeps the water clean and the coop bedding much drier.

WOW. You are honestly a life saver!! This was amazing and exactly what I needed to see and hear. Thank you a ton.

Okay so we don’t have electricity which is no problem and can be fixed easy. I for sure think I will do this for my chicks seeings as it would be a lot easier and just makes more sense.

They will arrive by march 31st, so they should have more of a chance being okay right?

How did you make the water bottle? Is that a nipple feeder hanging out the bottom?

I can’t thank you enough!!

 

[DobieLover]

How did you make the water bottle? Is that a nipple feeder hanging out the bottom?

You can pick up the vertical poultry nipples at most farm supply stores. They sell them in 4, 6 and upwards packs. I bought the plastic sports bottle from a thrift store for $0.75. You want to look for one that has that a screw on top with a handle on it that you can hook to a chain as well as a flip top for drinking out of that you can use as a vent.
Then follow the package instructions for the poultry nipple for the correct drill bit size and carefully drill a hole through the bottom of the bottle to insert the nipple. Although they don't call for it I like to put about three to five wraps of Teflon tape on the threads of the nipple before inserting it into the bottom of the bottle. You will obviously want to put water in it and just hang it over your sink to make sure it's not leaking before you put it in the brooder.
By hanging it from a chain you can continue to raise the level up so that it is at the correct height as the chicks grow.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

You can pick up the vertical poultry nipples at most farm supply stores. They sell them in 4, 6 and upwards packs. I bought the plastic sports bottle from a thrift store for $0.75. You want to look for one that has that a screw on top with a handle on it that you can hook to a chain as well as a flip top for drinking out of that you can use as a vent.
Then follow the package instructions for the poultry nipple for the correct drill bit size and carefully drill a hole through the bottom of the bottle to insert the nipple. Although they don't call for it I like to put about three to five wraps of Teflon tape on the threads of the nipple before inserting it into the bottom of the bottle. You will obviously want to put water in it and just hang it over your sink to make sure it's not leaking before you put it in the brooder.
By hanging it from a chain you can continue to raise the level up so that it is at the correct height as the chicks grow.

When you say “the correct size,” do you mean with a hole saw attachment? Just checking so I can make that my Valentines gift wish lol

 

[DobieLover]

When you saw “drill the correct size hole,” you mean with a hole saw attachment? Just checking so I can make that my Valentines gift wish lol

See the words "drill bit" above. I THINK it's a 11/64" but don't quote me on that.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

See the words "drill bit" above. I THINK it's a 11/64" but don't quote me on that.

Nice! I will see if I can find some instruction manuals online. That would be great if I didn’t need anything new.

Sorry to sound like I was second guessing. Not everyone uses their terms precisely, and it would suck if I got a hole saw kit that was missing the size I needed. I think I should have the right drill bit though.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wouldn't give them access to the entire coop until they are around 3 weeks old. Just partition off about 2 or 3 feet of the end of it and keep them there. Put the brooder plate at one end of the space and the food and water at the other end.

x2. Use the space you have and don't bother with buying tubs or whatnot which won't last long as a brooder. Something as simple as 3' cardboard stapled or taped to the wall of the coop to make an "enclosure" should work fine for about the first 2 weeks (after that they'll easily be able to get over it but will be ready to utilize all the space anyhow), or if you want to get fancier you can take hardware cloth and screw it into the walls/beams to portion off part of the coop.

I'm very simple with food and water, I just have a plastic mason jar size feeder and waterer sitting up on bricks or scrap wood to keep them out of the bedding. I don't have issues with water getting knocked over because I find that as long as chicks have ample room to move around as they grow, they don't tend to knock into things the way they would in a smaller space.

I use a mama heating pad for heat. For 15 birds you may need 2 pads or plates depending on size. If you plan on sticking with the heat lamp, make sure it is WELL secured (do NOT rely on the clamp to hold it up, it should be clamped, hung by the loop at back of the lamp, and even the cord should be looped over the support beam) and have the lamp only on one side of the brooding space so chicks have the option of getting away from heat when they don't want it.