Need to move to larger brooder area, but not ready for the coop outside.

[CoastChick]

I have 3.5 week olds and 1.5 week olds in TWO plastic tote brooders, but they are quickly outgrowing their spaces. The little girls are way too small to be put with the girls who are 2 weeks older. I'm contemplating using a wire crate with a separator wall so they get used to each other while they feather out and grow a little bigger to stay outside. (Plus all the chicks can get to know each other without being able to touch each other). Currently, the bigger girls are spending the day outside in their coop - but nights are too cold to stay outside. (low to mid 40ºf).
Both sets of girls are still on heat (Brinsea brooder plates, for each). Just set to different levels/temps and they will be on heat until mid-March. They'll be huge by that time. LOL!
Has anyone used a Frisco or MidWest style wire dog crate for brooding? Any tips or tricks for keeping that pine litter in?

 

[azygous]

With the rare exception of an aggressive chick, most chicks can be mingled as long they're all under four weeks old. Up until that time, chicks are uninterested in pulling rank on one another, in spite of size differences, although they will respond to meeting a new chick by pecking it on the head. This doesn't hurt, and usually it's as far as aggression will go. You can always stop an aggressive chick by pecking it on the back with your finger when you see the behavior. This simple discipline usually stops bad behavior.

Chicks are very like small children meeting new kids their age. They may slug a new kid on the arm, but within minutes, they're running off and playing as if they'd known one another forever. I haven't encountered problems with different aged chicks until I'm dealing with six-week olds and chicks a few weeks old. In that case, the older chicks have become self aware and cemented in their bonds with only their peer group, thus much more inclined to reject younger chicks joining their clique.

Chicks brooded indoors at average room temps, will not need a heat source after age three weeks during the day. After age five or six weeks, they will no longer need heat at night after gradual acclimation to outdoor temps.

 

[Huntmaster]

As I said in your other post if you can get power to your coop, I would already have them in it together with heat plate. Closing them up inside coop and letting them out in run for a while on warmer days. In those temps they will be fine with heat plate. https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25383004/

 

[rosemarythyme]

As far as keeping litter inside a wire crate, cut some cardboard to fit inside the walls and zip tie or wire it securely to the crate.

 

[katiemsea]

I've got my chicks in a tent set up in my guest room. They're currently in a cardboard box with a heater plate, but I plan on letting them loose in the tent when they're getting too big for the box. I got the idea from thefeatherbrain.com

 

[Lizzy733]

How many chicks?

Small confined spaces are good for keeling the heat up, but they really need room to move when they start stretching their legs and testing their wings. It's also good for them to have access to lower temperature areas in the brooder so they can start acclimatizing to being off the heat 24/7.

I have a few 'tween' setups to recommend. The first is a foldaway puppy play pen. - these things are fabric mesh and sturdy enough to contain a feral cat, and fine enough to contain newborn quail. They offer plenty of room for chicks to get around and are easy to set up and remove. It can be a bit awkward to set up heating though. A diy wooden frame for the heat lamp would be my recommendation if you're using this, or seedling heat mats, which should be warm enough for older chicks who are less dependent on super high temps.

Another easy up cage is to get pet pen panels, like the kind used for rabbits. Very small chicks can get through them, so they may need some modification for tinier chicks, but these panels slot together with a metal pole between panels making them easy to fit to any size or location. Some bird netting over top and plastic sheeting underneath will ensure the chicks stay contained and are easy to clean up after indoors. A wooden frame to hold the heat lamp can easily be secured across the top of the panels to ensure safe heating. These panels can also go outside for time on the grass when brooding in summer and later come in handy for integration.

I use both of the above and they also make great setups for isolation and managing sick flock members.

Both give me about 1sqm of brood space, which allows for a good bit of exercise in medium to small lots of chicks.