Lots of Brooder Questions!!!

[black_cat]

First off, I really recommend you consider brooding outdoors instead. Makes for less work for you, easier integration, and is more "natural" to being a chicken except for the fact that there's no hen. Enrichment isn't an issue for me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/



1/2 sq ft to start is fine but by 6 weeks-ish, I'd say 1.5-2 sq ft at a minimum.

Yes you can have too much space in a brooder, when they're very young (i.e. less than 1 week) chicks could potentially get lost in a large space and be unable to get to heat or water. But too little space can cause behavioral issues, such as chicks pecking each other. I give them over 2 sq ft from the start... by 2-3 weeks they're already insane and want to be outside.

No chicks don't need roosts in the brooder. You can put them in for enrichment, but it doesn't necessarily mean they'll learn to roost faster.

Shavings are fine.

I have no way of hanging a feeder or waterer so no opinion on that.

I prefer a mama heating pad over the options you listed but that's because I could make it for $2, and heat lamps make me worry about fires.



That's not how a heat plate/pad works. It does NOT warm the air, it works by direct contact. Chicks press against it to warm up, and then leave when they don't want it.

I personally feel the lid you're referring too is inadequate in ventilation. If you must use a bin (I recommend against it) then I'd cut open the majority of the center of the lid and securely attaching hardware cloth to cover the hole. More "windows" can be cut into the side of the bin if you want.

I'd love to brood outdoors but I don't think that it would work out, just based on climate, electricity access, and a number of other factors. I'd love to have one big thing that I could move them to after about a week, but my concern is cat-proofing. It is hard to block my cat out of places completely. I'd like to have the chicks in the basement, but my cat's litter box is there, and there is no temperature control. It gets very cold and very hot very easily. For my base setup, I will probably do either the lid with the holes, the lid with the hc, or a combination. I'd like to just put some plastic down and get some cardboard to make something with enough space, but the cat remains an issue. I checked out the mama heating pad, and it looks super cool! I will definitely look into those.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd love to brood outdoors but I don't think that it would work out, just based on climate, electricity access, and a number of other factors. I'd love to have one big thing that I could move them to after about a week, but my concern is cat-proofing. It is hard to block my cat out of places completely. I'd like to have the chicks in the basement, but my cat's litter box is there, and there is no temperature control. It gets very cold and very hot very easily.

Electric is the tough one for me as well but we make it work since it's only for 3 weeks anyhow. However your basement does not sound ideal for brooding so you may want to pick a better location, such as a guest bathroom.

So do you have an integration plan then, if brooding indoors?

 

[black_cat]

Electric is the tough one for me as well but we make it work since it's only for 3 weeks anyhow. However your basement does not sound ideal for brooding so you may want to pick a better location, such as a guest bathroom.

So do you have an integration plan then, if brooding indoors?

Yep! I do in fact have an integration plan. My parents may also do this:
-Return rental
-build real coop over the course of the year
-get chicks in spring
I'm more opposed to this. I'd like to do this plan:
-build real coop at end of rental
-keep rental chickens, give back garbage coop
-get new chicks in the spring
My integration plan involves a lot of see don't touch, and possibly a used prefab coop inside the run for the chickies. Any integration would be happening with a real coop, most likely a wichita cabin style one. I think that I'm going to either be sacrificing my room, my bathroom (attached) or my closet-as well as my sleep/peace and quiet. We really don't have a good place to brood chicks, and since they're my responsibility, I'm the one not sleeping for a month and a half

 

[NatJ]

So build the real coop such that you can brood the chicks in it. Some people put a poop board under the roost, and a brooder under the poop board. I read of someone else who built a cupboard on the wall of the coop, with a solid floor but wire mesh front, and used that for brooding chicks. Some people put a dog crate inside the coop to brood chicks, and just stick it in the corner. (Use hardware cloth or cardboard to keep the chicks from walking out through the sides of the crate during the first few days.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

Both of these articles talk about brooding chicks in the coop, and about integrating them with the adult chickens at a young age.

Brooding chicks in the coop would also keep them away from your cat.

I know some people do brood their chicks in a house, but I really recommend that you come up with a different plan. Chicks make a LOT of dust, not just sounds/noise.

If the chicks are in the house, and if you do use a heating plate, I don't think your sleep will be too much affected--they will be fairly quiet while sleeping in the dark each night, and of course the heat plate does not give off light to disturb you.

 

[black_cat]

So build the real coop such that you can brood the chicks in it. Some people put a poop board under the roost, and a brooder under the poop board. I read of someone else who built a cupboard on the wall of the coop, with a solid floor but wire mesh front, and used that for brooding chicks. Some people put a dog crate inside the coop to brood chicks, and just stick it in the corner. (Use hardware cloth or cardboard to keep the chicks from walking out through the sides of the crate during the first few days.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

Both of these articles talk about brooding chicks in the coop, and about integrating them with the adult chickens at a young age.

Brooding chicks in the coop would also keep them away from your cat.

I know some people do brood their chicks in a house, but I really recommend that you come up with a different plan. Chicks make a LOT of dust, not just sounds/noise.

If the chicks are in the house, and if you do use a heating plate, I don't think your sleep will be too much affected--they will be fairly quiet while sleeping in the dark each night, and of course the heat plate does not give off light to disturb you.

The problem with this is parents. They are open to the idea of getting chicks (they suggested it, which is why I know it's ok to go ahead and plan) but I'm still struggling on the coop with them. I'm afraid that if I try to build in too many extra features, they won't go for it. They're perfectly willing to spend $500 on a prefab, but not on something twice the size and twice as functional for some reason. I don't mind the dust-I will be laying down plastic sheeting over any flooring that is under the brooder. I only use about half of my closet-I may just wall off and cat proof one end of it as they get bigger.

 

[NatJ]

I think you said you already have a dog crate--just sit it in the coop.
If the coop is big enough for the chicks to live in when they grow up, it should be big enough to have a dog crate sit in the corner while they're babies.

Closet: that dust will not stay in half of the closet. It will be in the other half of the closet, in your room, and in the rest of the house. And you may not mind the dust, but your parents probably will not like it.

Depending on how much money your parents are willing to spend, you should be able to find either a shed or a prefab "coop" from some place that does sheds, that will actually be large enough. (If they would rather buy than build, the solution is to find the RIGHT thing to buy.)

 

[Flockincrazy]

Yep! I do in fact have an integration plan. My parents may also do this:
-Return rental
-build real coop over the course of the year
-get chicks in spring
I'm more opposed to this. I'd like to do this plan:
-build real coop at end of rental
-keep rental chickens, give back garbage coop
-get new chicks in the spring
My integration plan involves a lot of see don't touch, and possibly a used prefab coop inside the run for the chickies. Any integration would be happening with a real coop, most likely a wichita cabin style one. I think that I'm going to either be sacrificing my room, my bathroom (attached) or my closet-as well as my sleep/peace and quiet. We really don't have a good place to brood chicks, and since they're my responsibility, I'm the one not sleeping for a month and a half

You will be surprised by the noise that you can tune out after a few days

 

[black_cat]

I think you said you already have a dog crate--just sit it in the coop.
If the coop is big enough for the chicks to live in when they grow up, it should be big enough to have a dog crate sit in the corner while they're babies.

Closet: that dust will not stay in half of the closet. It will be in the other half of the closet, in your room, and in the rest of the house. And you may not mind the dust, but your parents probably will not like it.

Depending on how much money your parents are willing to spend, you should be able to find either a shed or a prefab "coop" from some place that does sheds, that will actually be large enough. (If they would rather buy than build, the solution is to find the RIGHT thing to buy.)

For integration, that's what I'm going to do-dog crate with HC up against the run for a few days (taking it in at night, don't worry), then dog crate inside the coop.
As for parents, I'm getting pretty mixed signals - they like what I'm showing them with building plans and coops we could build, they like the idea of customizing a coop, they like the idea of easy access for maintenance, they like the idea of not spending too much money, they *say* they like the idea of building something, but they keep showing me prefab coops.

 

[NatJ]

For integration, that's what I'm going to do-dog crate with HC up against the run for a few days (taking it in at night, don't worry), then dog crate inside the coop.

Just put the dog crate in the coop from the very first day, with heat/chicks/water/food. Electricity: there are extension cords rated for outdoor use. It's only for a few weeks.

 

[jreardon1918]

The problem with this is parents. They are open to the idea of getting chicks (they suggested it, which is why I know it's ok to go ahead and plan) but I'm still struggling on the coop with them. I'm afraid that if I try to build in too many extra features, they won't go for it. They're perfectly willing to spend $500 on a prefab, but not on something twice the size and twice as functional for some reason. I don't mind the dust-I will be laying down plastic sheeting over any flooring that is under the brooder. I only use about half of my closet-I may just wall off and cat proof one end of it as they get bigger.

I strongly recommend coop first. Then chicks.