Moving Chicks to the Coop

[bobbi-j]

That’s rather young to be moving into a coop.

Mine are brooded in the coop from day one. Last year they came in late April with lows in the mid to high 20's.

Thanks! I've been going back and forth over the heat lamp thing. I can hang it from the ceiling, so it is well away from the shavings. The temp out there last night was 34 (with the door wide open. I can close it at night. I'm worried the heat plate is no longer big enough for them all to get under. Maybe if I drape of towel over it and extend it out to the sides a bit????
I don't remember going thru this the last time ((15 or 20 years ago) I raised baby chicks. Of course then I was still working and hadn't the time to fuss like I do now.

I have used heat lamps until last year. I finally bit the bullet and tried the "Mama Heating Pad" method. I won't go back to heat lamps. The chicks I raised last year were the happiest, healthiest chicks I've ever had. Here's a link to the thread if you're interested (it's super long - I'd suggest starting from the beginning and glean as much information as you can, then read at your leisure):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...e-heavy-update.956958/page-1136#post-21141021

 

[k9grammy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been setting things up in the plastic coop and am re-thinking the door situation. I don't have much of a predator problem here. But I have a lot of plastic lattice left over from other uses. Maybe that will be the door until they can go outside.
Here our prevailing wind is from the south and the cold stuff comes from the North/NE. Most of the heat will come on the west side, so I am thinking I'll hang a shade cloth outside that wall in the summer if it gets too warm. Although by then they will be going outside and will likely be under the bushes.
I just put a top on my makeshift brooder pen yesterday and glad I did. One little gal (a Delaware) flew up and perched on top of the feed silo. So the lattice door seems better and better I can put something more solid down at the bottom.
As I sit here at my computer I can look out the window and the chicken yard and shed and can't wait to see my girls out there running around.

 

[aart]

Don't mess with a heat lamp, just use the heat plate outside.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you can, take them out for a couple of hours each day. It is good for chicks to get both fresh air and sunshine. If you worry that you won't be able to catch those quick little buggers, try this. It is what I do with a great deal of success.

I start with my chicks in totes. Then when I move mine out at about 3 weeks for layers, and even sooner for meats, I carry them down in the tote, and just tip the tote on the side. Put your heat plate set up without heat in there, and they will return there about dark. Then if you want you can take them back to the house.

This gets them some exercise, fresh air, and sunshine.

Mrs K

 

[k9grammy]

Thanks! I like that idea a lot! I'll give it a try before the rain comes back.

 

[k9grammy]

Well, obviously I got carried away when I bought these kids and with 19, they quickly outgrew the brooder space I had set up for them (A dog x-pen with sheet draped over it). So yesterday I set up the coop with bedding and today I moved the heat plate out there along with all of them, their food and water and some 4x4 posts on the ground. 2/3 of the floor has shavings and the rest has hay.
They began running around and digging in the deep shavings. Scared me for a few minutes when it looked like one little girl was completely buried, but she soon popped back out.
I put in a couple of dirt clumps with sod and they went nuts for that.
Several of them moved the bottom of the shade screen and slipped out thru the openings in the x-pen. Fortunately, they only went just outside into a nice dirt patch and were scratching and dusting. I put them back in and put a sheet over the x-pen again.
I'll go out and check on them when the sun goes down and see how they are doing. I had turned off the heat plate in the house for the last couple of nights. I raised it some and turned it back on for out in the coop.
Now I have the huge mess in the spare bedroom to clean up from the brooder pen I had made in there.
I'm glad I moved them, they seem much happier out in a larger area. Just hope I didn't jump the gun. they do have a lot of their feathers, but still a bit on down on their heads.

 

[Mrs. K]

As long as they have good protection from the wind they should do fine, and it is much healthier for them to be outside for both you and them.

 

[aart]

I'm glad I moved them, they seem much happier out in a larger area. Just hope I didn't jump the gun.

I'll bet they'll be just fine...and you may never brood chicks in the house again.
How big of a heat plate do you have?

 

[richie10439]

Hello, Wondering if these birds are feathered out enough to go outside and into their own coop?? They are 4 weeks old today, with the exception of the bigger one, who is a bit older then that. They are currently in my unheated attached garage, so its about 50 deg F inside the garage right now. I am in the NY NJ CT area so in a few more days the low overnight temps will be into the 40's. They were all brooded using that heat plate, and there are currently 3- week and a half old chicks under that plate. any advice is appreciated! Also, the pics are about a week old....

 

[aart]

Hello, Wondering if these birds are feathered out enough to go outside and into their own coop??

Move them all, and the heat plate, out to the coop.