My plan for my baby chicks, please critique!

[foux003]

Chicks need the a red heat lamp not the clear one. All chickens need the light spectrum of the sun.

foux003

 

[Judy]

Around here the traditional brooder is a spot in an outdoor shed with an ordinary 100W light bulb, maybe partitioned off with a few bales of hay if it was cold. Years ago I did this myself, and raised a healthy flock. Thermometer? What for? We didn't know what the temp should be anyway. Now I have some week olds in a 5x6 pen in my breezy coop, with a heat lamp which I turn off on 80 degree days. Haven't seen them directly under the heat lamp since their first day in there, even at sunrise with temp 50-60. I planned to slip them under a broody but she ran them out of the nest, so....

 

[pixiedouglas]

This is what we did based on three things. Advice from BYC, advice from our local Farm Supply chick lady, advice from book on chickens.

I started with a large rubbermaid tote the first couple weeks or so. Pine shavings and a little DE. Lamp on one side so they could move in and out. Antibiotics and sugar in the water for the first two weeks. Keep marbles or rocks in your waterer so they don't fall in and drown. I changed the water twice a day the first week and daily after that. Added a stick for them to play roost on after the first week. We had a thermometer and a wire top over the brooder so if the light fell it wouldn't fall into the box.

After week two we graduated to an extra large rubbermaid tote. Pine shavings and more DE. DH built them a little mini roost out of a 2x4. I use the brown paper grocery store bags under my waterer to absorb dampness. I think it does a better job and is more cost effective than paper towels. Continued with antibiotics, reduced sugar, added a little vinegar to the water. Left the rocks in to be safe.

After week four we moved them to a giant wire pen on top of a blue tarp in the garage with the original brooder box turned on it's side inside the pen and the mini roost. They love to sit on both and some of them like to sit in the box. One side is curtained off with a sheet to keep them from flying off the top of the box and reduce draft. The light hangs between the roost and the box. Plain water now that the antibiotics are all used up and the rocks are out. I clean it with some very diluted bleach water once a week and rinse throughly. Otherwise it starts to grow a little black slime in the threads. Still sprinkle plenty of DE on the pine shavings and after I scrap off the poo from the box and the roost I rub those down with DE too. Started outside field trips and introduced treats. I give them a few handfuls of sand in the "treat" spot for grit and to dust bathe in. When I show up and cluck for them they all run to the treat spot. So far for treats they get grass clippings, weeds, finely diced strawberry tops, crumbled multigrain bread (the end pieces my kids won't eat), carrot shavings, and carrot greens (they REALLY like those). I've also given them our leftover scrambled eggs and they love it.

They are five weeks old now and seem pretty happy.

Good luck and congratulations on your babies!