New chick and duck mom in Ohio, US

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Coop soon.

 

[feathermaid]

It's from TSC... think it's Producer's Pride or something similar. Will flip up to be a coop heating plate if needed.

That sounds awesome! I googled and found it online, but none are available to ship to my area and no local TSCs either. I might try looking again in spring. Thx for the info!

Good luck getting that coop built quick! Your chicks can go outside anytime with the heater plate and they'll appreciate having more space. I put my last two broods out at 1-2 weeks with a heating pad cave (homemade version of yours) and they've all done great! Here are a couple links that helped me:
Start Raising Your Chicks Outdoors
You Certainly Can Brood Chicks Outdoors

But I totally understand about your first babies and not wanting to boot them out. I kept my first chicks inside for about 5 weeks before I couldn't stand the dust any longer.
Good job on the duck house! Have fun in your new adventures!

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome Glad you decided to join us! Beautiful babies, thanks for sharing pictures!

 

[Leahs Coop]

Hello and welcome to Backyard Chickens! So glad you decided to join the flock

 

[AgnesGray]

That sounds awesome! I googled and found it online, but none are available to ship to my area and no local TSCs either. I might try looking again in spring. Thx for the info!

Good luck getting that coop built quick! Your chicks can go outside anytime with the heater plate and they'll appreciate having more space. I put my last two broods out at 1-2 weeks with a heating pad cave (homemade version of yours) and they've all done great! Here are a couple links that helped me:
Start Raising Your Chicks Outdoors
You Certainly Can Brood Chicks Outdoors

But I totally understand about your first babies and not wanting to boot them out. I kept my first chicks inside for about 5 weeks before I couldn't stand the dust any longer.
Good job on the duck house! Have fun in your new adventures!

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Thanks for the links! The coop heater/brooder was in short supply here too. I lucked out and found one about 40 miles away. So far it really has been great. Hope it holds up.

Question for you guys... as I was diving into coop plans yesterday evening with DH, we started contemplating if it would be possible aka healthy for the girls if we could give them a corner of our concrete barn. Is there any reason the concrete walls would be a bad thing for them? It's not damp or dark and we're in the process of putting electric in so we could use that for heaters and lights, etc.

 

[feathermaid]

Question for you guys... as I was diving into coop plans yesterday evening with DH, we started contemplating if it would be possible aka healthy for the girls if we could give them a corner of our concrete barn. Is there any reason the concrete walls would be a bad thing for them? It's not damp or dark and we're in the process of putting electric in so we could use that for heaters and lights, etc.

Lots of folks make their coop inside of a barn or stall, so would probably be fine. The most important feature it needs is ventilation, a large opening- or several- for moisture to escape, and up higher than the roosts to keep any drafts off your chickens. But keep those openings covered with hardware cloth to keep out predators. Lights would be good for your convenience to check on things, but your birds won't need a night light and they probably won't need supplemental heat either. I can't believe I forgot to leave you this link too:
Chicken Coop Ventilation - Go Out There And Cut More Holes In Your Coop!
And these others make up my holy trinity!
How Much Room Do Chickens Need
Predator Proofing

You might want to start a new thread in the Coop/Run Design forum to get some brainstorm ideas how to fix up your concrete room.

You're using that awesome heat plate so your chickies will get acclimated to the outdoors much easier than other birds raised with a heat lamp. I was just reading a thread on why you shouldn't heat your coop, though the little heater you already have might be fine to keep the chill off one of the concrete walls. I think you'll find some very useful information to put your worries at ease here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-first-winter-with-chickens.1332282/

 

[AgnesGray]

Reply

Lots of folks make their coop inside of a barn or stall, so would probably be fine. .

You might want to start a new thread in the [URL='https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/']Coop/Run Design forum

to get some brainstorm ideas how to fix up your concrete room.

You're using that awesome heat plate so your chickies will get acclimated to the outdoors much easier than other birds raised with a heat lamp. I was just reading a thread on why you shouldn't heat your coop, though the little heater you already have might be fine to keep the chill off one of the concrete walls. I think you'll find some very useful information to put your worries at ease here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-first-winter-with-chickens.1332282/

Thanks SO much!! Will definitely head over to that forum for ideas!

I guess my thinking about the heat was to put the soon to hatch chickies in the barn with the big girls rather than in the garage. The Bielefelders are about 7 days from hatch day!
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[feathermaid]

I guess my thinking about the heat was to put the soon to hatch chickies in the barn with the big girls rather than in the garage. The Bielefelders are about 7 days from hatch day!

Big girls meaning the chicks that are a few weeks old?
The heat plate will be perfect for the new babies, and the older ones should be done using it by then.
You'll still want to separate both batches in a "see but don't touch" situation for some time so they get used to each other before mingling. Older chicks can be much meaner to younger ones than adults would be. In fact, most grown birds run away from tiny chicks, where older chicks (juveniles) see babies as a way to practice pecking order and win.

Also, do you plan to house both chick batches and the ducks together? You mentioned earlier you got chicks to keep the ducks company. I'm worried that the water the ducklings need to dunk their heads in will make a health hazard for the chicks who need to stay completely dry, especially over winter. I've never owned ducks and don't know all the ins and outs of it, so you might want to start yet another thread to ask about that. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/
Posting your new questions in the appropriate forums will be seen by more people and get you a lot more help than here.
Best wishes and good luck on the upcoming hatch!

 

[BullChick]

 

[AgnesGray]

Big girls meaning the chicks that are a few weeks old?
The heat plate will be perfect for the new babies, and the older ones should be done using it by then.
You'll still want to separate both batches in a "see but don't touch" situation for some time so they get used to each other before mingling. Older chicks can be much meaner to younger ones than adults would be. In fact, most grown birds run away from tiny chicks, where older chicks (juveniles) see babies as a way to practice pecking order and win.

Also, do you plan to house both chick batches and the ducks together? You mentioned earlier you got chicks to keep the ducks company. I'm worried that the water the ducklings need to dunk their heads in will make a health hazard for the chicks who need to stay completely dry, especially over winter. I've never owned ducks and don't know all the ins and outs of it, so you might want to start yet another thread to ask about that. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/
Posting your new questions in the appropriate forums will be seen by more people and get you a lot more help than here.
Best wishes and good luck on the upcoming hatch!

Lots of great info here for a newbie - thank you!

We're building a duck enclosure with a filtered pond as we've come to realize that they're little piggies. They're also so much larger than the chicks that blending them didn't work out for us (although many people seem to do that without any issues). I do plan to keep one of the drakes and don't believe they should stay with the chickens either, in any case. Lots of learning and modifying our plans in a very short amount of time!

We have changed direction on the chick housing a few times as well and are going for a shed conversion at this point and building an attached run. Barn conversion might happen next summer, but we've realized we're not going to have time before they need to move out and winter is setting in. So.... we're going to build something I saw on facebook with heat in it for the new babies with a screen like this: (Not my pic, but an example of what we are going to do)

When I get a second to catch my breath, hopefully will be able to dive into the other threads. So much helpful info!

Thanks again to all who have responded and shared tips for getting started with me! I appreciate it!