Kicked them out...now what?

[CamdenLab]

Hi I'm new to chickens and never had a thought of chickens being dusty but boy
I can't wait to get my girls outside and do a final clean up of the dust !!!
The house was the only safe place I had to keep them,,we have 2 large sheds but raccoons can get in them.

It took me about a week to clean up all the dust! Gross! I could not eat in my kitchen for nearly two weeks. Just the thought of the feces in the dust totally grossed me out.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Mine are 4 weeks old and I have been taking 4 out at a time in an enclosed dog run. They love it. They are quite easy to pick up as they come to my hand for treats and then I scoop them up before they know what is going on. LOL. They make that little chortle noise. Like as much as to say....."huh?" A few give a loud peep of concern. Too cute. Pretty soon I want to put them in the coop as they are outgrowing their brooder.

What does everyone use for a larger waterer? Feeder? I don't want to use the small ones. I want to be able to have enough food and water in the containers to last a couple of days at least so that when we go away for overnight they will be fine. Which leads me to ask another question....

What does everyone do when you want to go on vacation, etc?? This is my next worry. My hubby and I like to travel and our family is an overnight stay away. We haven't gone anywhere since getting my chicks a month ago.

 

[CamdenLab]

The guy at the feed store told me that a two gallon water fount should last 2-3 days. Uh, not quite. For my 9 chicks I must fill it every 24-36 hours. I'm probably going to get a bigger one and put this one on Craigslist. I would feel ok going away for the weekend with a 4 gallon fount for my flock.

 

[debid]

They are either spilling like crazy or your waterer leaks. 9 grown chickens don't normally consume two gallons per day. Not even close.

 

[CamdenLab]

Hmm, I will check that out. Thanks!

 

[CrazyPetunias]

I have 10 chicks and they have a 1 gal waterer. It has to be filled daily. Last time we went away overnight, I put a 1 gallon bucket in their run and filled their 1 gal waterer - hoping it would be enough but no go. They had tipped over the bucket and their waterer was empty when I got home.

I am looking into changing to a 5 gallon bucket with watering cups. Just got the parts and will try it this weekend

We use a PVC tube feeder for the food and that last a good 2-3 days each time its filled up. You might also want to look into a pet sitter for your chickens. Just someone to stop by daily to fill food/water.

 

[Sharon Bee]

I have been turning off the heat lamp in the afternoons so my 11 chicks that are 4 1/2 weeks old can become adjusted to temps in preparation for their move to the coop. I'm in S. Ontario where temps are about 22 c in the day.
I just remembered i didn't turn lamp back on and it's 9:45 pm. Went out to garage to turn lamp on but they are all sleeping soundly in a big cluster. I guess they are o.k. I hate to disturb them. Lol. I will check what the temperature is going down to.

Just checked...going down to 16 c or 62 F. tonight. Can they be without the heat lamp?

 

[CamdenLab]

I have been turning off the heat lamp in the afternoons so my 11 chicks that are 4 1/2 weeks old can become adjusted to temps in preparation for their move to the coop. I'm in S. Ontario where temps are about 22 c in the day.
I just remembered i didn't turn lamp back on and it's 9:45 pm. Went out to garage to turn lamp on but they are all sleeping soundly in a big cluster. I guess they are o.k. I hate to disturb them. Lol. I will check what the temperature is going down to.

Just checked...going down to 16 c or 62 F. tonight. Can they be without the heat lamp?

Mine are just fine in temps lower than that. My coop is well ventilated but not drafty and I have nine. They are about six weeks now, I guess? I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can always feed them a little corn scratch before bed to help them keep warm. When I put mine to bed (which is actually getting better as they seem to be getting the hang of it -- finally!) they all have very full crops so I know they are staying warm with each other as well as with full tummies.

 

[phalenbeck]

Cannot imagine a need for heat lamp at 4 1/2 weeks and 60 at night. With our 60 night and 70-80 days here I kick-up outside at 3 weeks with a dry draft free coop.

 

[Sharon Bee]

It didn't used to be 60 F at night until just recently. It has been cool here.

I'm almost ready to move them to the coop. My hubby justfinished it today with hanging the light.

i

It has been built inside of a brick carriage house. I put straw over a stone/dirt floor.