NEW chicken mom! Size?

[Debrabuf]

Hi all, I just picked up my first 6 chicks last night. They slept pretty good under the brooder heater, my question is...if all born the same day, how come my Barred Rock chicks are huge compare to my Golden Comets and Chocolate Orpingtons? I'm worried about the tinier ones?

 

[MegsEggsx]

Different breeds are different sizes. So you shouldn't get too worried unless the bigger ones pick on the little ones. Welcome to BYC! Good luck with your chicks and your future in chickenhood!

 

[Speckledqueen]

Can you set your brooder heater (if you are using a plate heater) up so that the legs on one side are a bit shorter than the other? So it slopes a little. I've done that with mine (as per its instructions) because my chicks are different sizes

 

[Callender Girl]

I understand your concern. Last week, I got five chicks, three of which are Cochin Bantams. The others are a Columbian Wyandotte and a Bielefelder, both breeds that will become big girls (strangely, the CW is larger than the Bielefelder who SHOULD grow up to be a bigger bird).

I had another brooder set up so I could split the chicks into size-based groups, but there hasn't been a need so far. Everybody is exactly the same age and at least for now, they seem unaware of the size difference and no one is being bullied.

As long as no one gets picked on, I'm all for leaving them together (after all, I already have a brooder with older, full-sized Cochins in the same spare upstairs room).

 

[Debrabuf]

Can you set your brooder heater (if you are using a plate heater) up so that the legs on one side are a bit shorter than the other? So it slopes a little. I've done that with mine (as per its instructions) because my chicks are different sizes

I'm switched to the heating light. I do have one that I can adjust, maybe I'll switch back.

 

[Debrabuf]

I understand your concern. Last week, I got five chicks, three of which are Cochin Bantams. The others are a Columbian Wyandotte and a Bielefelder, both breeds that will become big girls (strangely, the CW is larger than the Bielefelder who SHOULD grow up to be a bigger bird).

I had another brooder set up so I could split the chicks into size-based groups, but there hasn't been a need so far. Everybody is exactly the same age and at least for now, they seem unaware of the size difference and no one is being bullied.

As long as no one gets picked on, I'm all for leaving them together (after all, I already have a brooder with older, full-sized Cochins in the same spare upstairs room).

I see you have the EZ coop, I ordered the medium one that will arrive this week. How do you like it?

 

[Callender Girl]

I'm a fan. It is incredibly sturdy. Half an oak tree literally fell on it during the durecho (wind storm) last summer and dented the metal roof a bit, but no structural damage. The amount of wind here-- sometimes 50 mph sustained -- and the pure flatness of northern Iowa, combined with the extra weight of the nest boxes (and because someone ELSE put just a few bricks underneath it) resulted in it tipping over onto the adjacent coop and run on another occasion. I set it upright, and it was fine.

I re-weighted the bottom framework and put a row of stepping stones under the roosts for counterbalance after that. Someone else on BYC later suggested a method for staking it down that sounded good. Unless you live somewhere with ridiculous weather, it's unlikely yours will ever tip. And, again, it's so sturdy that it will probably be fine; I was just worried about scared hens.

I bought it secondhand, and the previous owner had installed what looked like refrigerator wire shelves over the windows to prevent predators. I took that a step further and added hardware cloth, too, because I've had mink predation, and they can get through tiny openings.

It's also well insulated, which is important with the weather extremes here. I did bend open the installed vents a little with a screwdriver to make sure there was enough cross ventilation in the winter when I don't have the windows open.

I think the company -- as they all do -- overestimates how many birds will live COMFORTABLY in the coop, but I only have six in mine and they're fine.

I hope you really like yours. I understand they come unassembled. Please let me know how easy it is to put together. I have toyed with the idea of getting another -- because chicken math is so very real for me!