Chick-Inn-Coop
In the Brooder
Hi Everyone!
Hoping to gather some input or support on my plans to move 2.5 week old chicks into their coop.
I'll preface this by saying I'm a first time chicken owner and admit I was insanely ignorant of how fast these little guys grow.
My current situation, as easily as I can put it:
- Chicks are 2.5 weeks old (5 Easter Eggers & 5 Production Reds)
- Currently housed in a makeshift brooder made of 2 large cardboard boxes taped together (classy, i know.. I had a nicer setup but they outgrew that one fast)
- Brooder is in a small room inside the house controlled by electric heat; Room temp ranges from 75 during the day (when the sun shines in) to 70 at night
- They've been off the heat lamp for 4 days as they were indicating that they didn't need it & nobody was ever under it. Seems they are a bit ahead of schedule here. They are very active, everyone seems happy & eating/drinking well.
- They're too big for the box; I feel they need more space & want to avoid behavioural issues.
The Coop:
- Interior is 4ft x 8ft, raised off the ground, not insulated (also has a covered run but they won't be out for another while)
- Entire coop and run is predator proofed (1/2 inch hardware cloth, strong latches on the doors, etc). We have too many predators here so went almost too far with this.
- Coop has power (yay!) to assist in heat for cold winter temps when necessary. However, after a 2-day dry run testing of temps, we can only reliably maintain a 65 degree room temp overnight when the outside temperatures dip to about 40. Daytime temps maintained at 75 easily.
- We have a hanging heat lamp in one corner, which provides a direct heat source of about 80 degrees underneath it. Might need to raise this up a bit.
My plan:
- I'd like to just take their entire current brooder and put it in their new home, after carving out a hole in the side so they can leave freely (they've lived their whole lives in this thing, i feel it's only fair). But their brooder only fits in the opposite corner of the hanging heat lamp, so they'd have to venture out & find the heat. There is 1 very confident chick who would likely find it fast and I think the others would follow.
Any thoughts? Will they be cold or should they be fine? Can they handle the sudden cold rush when we open the coop doors to check on them?
We're trying to do everything right for these guys, but really have no idea.
Thank you!
Hoping to gather some input or support on my plans to move 2.5 week old chicks into their coop.
I'll preface this by saying I'm a first time chicken owner and admit I was insanely ignorant of how fast these little guys grow.
My current situation, as easily as I can put it:
- Chicks are 2.5 weeks old (5 Easter Eggers & 5 Production Reds)
- Currently housed in a makeshift brooder made of 2 large cardboard boxes taped together (classy, i know.. I had a nicer setup but they outgrew that one fast)
- Brooder is in a small room inside the house controlled by electric heat; Room temp ranges from 75 during the day (when the sun shines in) to 70 at night
- They've been off the heat lamp for 4 days as they were indicating that they didn't need it & nobody was ever under it. Seems they are a bit ahead of schedule here. They are very active, everyone seems happy & eating/drinking well.
- They're too big for the box; I feel they need more space & want to avoid behavioural issues.
The Coop:
- Interior is 4ft x 8ft, raised off the ground, not insulated (also has a covered run but they won't be out for another while)
- Entire coop and run is predator proofed (1/2 inch hardware cloth, strong latches on the doors, etc). We have too many predators here so went almost too far with this.
- Coop has power (yay!) to assist in heat for cold winter temps when necessary. However, after a 2-day dry run testing of temps, we can only reliably maintain a 65 degree room temp overnight when the outside temperatures dip to about 40. Daytime temps maintained at 75 easily.
- We have a hanging heat lamp in one corner, which provides a direct heat source of about 80 degrees underneath it. Might need to raise this up a bit.
My plan:
- I'd like to just take their entire current brooder and put it in their new home, after carving out a hole in the side so they can leave freely (they've lived their whole lives in this thing, i feel it's only fair). But their brooder only fits in the opposite corner of the hanging heat lamp, so they'd have to venture out & find the heat. There is 1 very confident chick who would likely find it fast and I think the others would follow.
Any thoughts? Will they be cold or should they be fine? Can they handle the sudden cold rush when we open the coop doors to check on them?
We're trying to do everything right for these guys, but really have no idea.
Thank you!
