New brooder or?

[keeks&kiwimom]

Hello everyone I have 5 almost 3 week old chicks. I'm wondering if the brooder I currently have them in is too small (see pictures) and if so what should I move them to next? I've seen the kiddie pool idea and have thought about going that route but If that's only going to last them another week then I need to get some other ideas. The chicks are flying around and trying to fly out of the brooder when I'm changing the water and food dishes so I'm thinking it's time to move them. Am I wrong? This is my first time raising chicks so I just assumed I'd keep them indoors until they were 6 weeks old but I guess I didn't realize how big and fast they grew.
The chicken coop is not completed yet but should be by this weekend or early next week. So here are a couple questions i have.
1. Is the brooder i have them in too small( see pictures) or do i have another week or so to keep them in there?
2. I've seen on other posts that people were recommending moving the chicks out to the coop but the problem i have with that is 1. my coop isn't done yet. 2. If it was done i don't believe the weather here will be warm enough for them. The lows at night is still in the 20's and the highs are low to mid 50's. So is that too cold?
3. Do i really need to keep them indoors till 6 weeks old? (I also read that there feathers aren't fully grown in till about 6 weeks)

All suggestions welcome Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Thepriceofbeauty]

Hey there! So I am in the exact situation, could have written your post myself! This was their first brooder, which they had outgrown by week 3. What I did was go to home depot and grab some large moving boxes and Duct tape them together, and put it on a large tarp in a bedroom where my dog can't have access. Filled it with pine shavings, and covered a large Tupperware with 1/4 chicken wire, so the food they scrape out gets caught somewhere other than their bedding. Boy do they love to make a mess. They have a heating pad made for chicks, that I leave on 24/7. Covered the top with plain ol chicken wire and It's been working great since then!

Hoping to have their coop done this weekend, but it's been snowing/ raining lately. Still have a few weeks before I'd feel comfortable kicking them out, since it's still fairly cold here in north Denver. But I am beyond ready, as I'm sure they are, that chicken dust/ dander is no joke!

 

[Thepriceofbeauty]

That is a fantastic idea!! I just may need to go to Home Depot this weekend. Thanks! How old are your chicks in your pictures?

Yeah the wire covered Tupperware is AMAZING. I just scoop the food back into their feeder (if I can get to it before they poop in there) in the pictures with the moving boxes they are 3.5 weeks old, which was taken about 10 days ago. The boxes are quite large in real life, looks kinds funny in the pics. All in all, it cost about 50$ but I will repurpose the wire for the coop

 

[keeks&kiwimom]

Yeah the wire covered Tupperware is AMAZING. I just scoop the food back into their feeder (if I can get to it before they poop in there) in the pictures with the moving boxes they are 3.5 weeks old, which was taken about 10 days ago. The boxes are quite large in real life, looks kinds funny in the pics. All in all, it cost about 50$ but I will repurpose the wire for the coop

Very cute!!

 

[Thepriceofbeauty]

Oh and no pine shavings in their water either!

 

[lazy gardener]

Save yourself some money. You can buy a box at HD, or you can get a free appliance box from any appliance warehouse. Call your local appliance dealers, and ask them how or where you can get a box. Most dealers are more than happy to let you pick up a box. It can be collapsed as needed to fit in your car. I have zip tied 2 boxes together to make a HUGE brooder.

BTW, by the time your chicks are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have a minimum of 2 s.f./chick in the brooder. If the chicks are in your house, they should be weaned off heat by 3 weeks of age. Chicks can easily be weaned from heat and living outside in most climates by 4 - 5 weeks of age.

My chicks are brooded in a grow out coop with MHP for heat. They wean themselves off heat by the time they are 4 - 5 weeks old. At that time, temps at night can be down to freezing. Day time temps vary from low 50's to mid 70's.

Shavings in the feed and water? I hang my feeder and waterer from a chain. It's a simple matter to raise the containers one or two links at a time to keep them always at the level of the chicks backs. It's a very rare event for me to have shavings or poo in feed or water.

 

[keeks&kiwimom]

Hey there! So I am in the exact situation, could have written your post myself! This was their first brooder, which they had outgrown by week 3. What I did was go to home depot and grab some large moving boxes and Duct tape them together, and put it on a large tarp in a bedroom where my dog can't have access. Filled it with pine shavings, and covered a large Tupperware with 1/4 chicken wire, so the food they scrape out gets caught somewhere other than their bedding. Boy do they love to make a mess. They have a heating pad made for chicks, that I leave on 24/7. Covered the top with plain ol chicken wire and It's been working great since then!

Hoping to have their coop done this weekend, but it's been snowing/ raining lately. Still have a few weeks before I'd feel comfortable kicking them out, since it's still fairly cold here in north Denver. But I am beyond ready, as I'm sure they are, that chicken dust/ dander is no joke!

That is a fantastic idea!! I just may need to go to Home Depot this weekend. Thanks! How old are your chicks in your pictures?

 

[keeks&kiwimom]

Ive been using pine pellets and it seemed to be working until this morning. I woke up to the water dish being filled with pellets that soaked up all of the water and left a mushy mess. I just elevated the water until I make make one like yours

 

[keeks&kiwimom]

Thank you! That’s good stuff to know.