My Brooder/Grow Out Pen in Coop - Feedback?

[jlwquilter]

I am new to raising chicks. While I’ve hatched 4 batches this is the first time I am raising some past 2 weeks old. I’m down to 4 boys
They’ve been in a big brooder box on a table in the family room but they’re getting close to flying out, need more room, etc. I’m using the mother hen heating pad method - love it!
Here are a few pictures of what we set up. It’s a section of the shed coop 25 gold stars and a SLW roo use for their roost, feed and water, and nesting boxes. It’s plenty big. It’s attached to a huge run and they come and go freely at all times.
The first 3 pics are of the brooder area right now. I started with the crate and made it into the unheated cave on the right side in the top pics. Then I got worried about it not being heated so added the heating pad cave they are used to (left side of pic).
Question: will they get confused on which to use when needed? Should I remove the unheated cave? The chicks are 13 days old.
I took them out for a few hours over the last few days to acclimate them to the space. They LOVE it! Running around, seeing the big girls, etc. The roo checked them out briefly but doesn’t seem that interested. Some of the hens are quite interested . They’ve been in their area most of today.
I’m planning on keeping them there all night tonight for the first time. I’m nervous as heck!
Also I ordered some chicks that will arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. We’re working on a table level brooder that will go against the shed wall over top where the current floor caves are. This is so the new chicks start in the coop but separate from the 2 weeks old chicks. Having all the chicks in one location should be easier on me. In a few weeks the new chicks will move downstairs and be integrated with the older chicks. Well, that’s the plan!

I’d love any feedback and suggestions on whether this set up makes sense or needs adjustments. Thanks!

 

[jlwquilter]

Well, they’re out there for their first night. Went out just after dark to check on them. 2 were just outside the unheated cave chirping but not screaming. The other 2 were not visible. Quick search found them tucked under the flap of the unheated cave several inches from the outside chicks. Grabbed them all and stuffed them into the heater pad cave. All quiet

Now just have to wait out the night!

 

[alwaystj9]

Glad you caught the lost ones! And I had to laugh at the dollar weed in your pen - I had been digging it out of my garden today. I think keeping track of them at bed time is good. The weather has been really unpredictable this spring.

 

[jlwquilter]

It’s cool this weekend, which is nice for us. The hot hot summer will fry us soon enough!
My chickens love dollar weed. They don’t eat the roots but I just pull it up by the bucket full - they eat the leaves and dig thru the dirt attached to the roots. There’s a other weed they like a lot- don’t know the name of it. It’s low to the ground and kind of vine-ish. It gets small blue flowers. I have tons of it too. Cheap green feed - can’t argue with that! I actually can’t keep up with how much of these weeds they want to eat.

 

[alwaystj9]

Mine usually are out in the pasture eating horse poop, they get their greens that way
What age do you plan to put the "tweens" in with the grownups?

 

[jlwquilter]

Haha! Yours are getting pre-digested greens! We have too many predators to let ours range outside the electric fencing. I wish we could. Gathering greens for them most days is a drag.
My timing on letting the chicks free mingle with the adults is how soon they get too big to be easy snacks for the aerial predators - mostly smaller raptors. I’ve had 8-10 week old chicks do ok so that’s what I’m thinking. My wire fencing inside if the electric fence is regular chicken wire so has holes the baby chicks could just walk thru. I’ll let them out for supervised playtime near bedtime when I can, when they get a bit older, in order to get them to come back inside easier cause I don’t imagine that they’ll want to otherwise. Dealing with this age range - 2 to 8 weeks old - is new for me so I’ll be learning as I go

 

[jlwquilter]

The chicks survived the night just fine. They were out looking for their food this morning
They played all day in and out of the unheated cave, jumping on and off the jungle gym branch, dug thru the weed pile and sand bathed. And best of all tonight they put themselves to bed in the heating pad cave! They’re only going to be out there for a few days - I’ve found them a home!