New chix

[TsBirds]

We are new to raising chickens. We realized too late that this is a bad time to raise new ones in our climate. We live in a Chicago suburb. We did buy cold hardy chix but need some advice as I’m seeing they need about 60 degree weather until their adult feathers come in. Currently at 2 weeks old we have them in the house in a brooder. Need to know how and when they can be moved outside. Chix we got are
Cream legbar
Easter egger
Silk white Easter egger
Lavender Orpington
Black copper maran
Blue splash maran
Any help or advise would be much appreciated.

 

[DobieLover]

They do not need to be at 60F until their feathers come in. I have raised chicks out in my coop using a brooder plate and they were zipping around their brooder in 23F weather at 2 weeks old. They would go back under their plate to warm up then zip back out again to eat and drink.

Do you have your coop/run built and ready to go? Is it wired or at least close enough to run an extension cord to it? Do you have a brooder plate?

 

[TsBirds]

They do not need to be at 60F until their feathers come in. I have raised chicks out in my coop using a brooder plate and they were zipping around their brooder in 23F weather at 2 weeks old. They would go back under their plate to warm up then zip back out again to eat and drink.

Do you have your coop/run built and ready to go? Is it wired or at least close enough to run an extension cord to it? Do you have a brooder plate?

I do not have power to it but power is very close. I have the producers pride heat plate from tractor supply. I do have a coop built and a run for them. Currently they are in our house. The brooder set up is a large dog crate. I appreciate the fast response. Let me see if I can figure out how to add pics to show.

 

[TsBirds]

Here are a couple pics.

 

[DobieLover]

Here are a couple pics.

Can you show more pictures of the coop? What is the sq footage? Can you show pictures of the ventilation in the coop?
Your brooder is very small. How many chicks do you have? You just listed the breeds but not how many of each breed.
I would move them into the coop. I've raised chicks in the coop when the overnight temps dipped into the low 20's. The chicks thrived.
Are you planning to let them out of the run as much as possible when they are grown? It's also too small for full time confinement if you only have 1 of each breed mentioned above.
Also, consider making a baby bottle with a sports bottle with a flip top screw cap lid and a vertical nipple:

I made this for less than $5. Got a 4-pack of nipples from Tractor Supply and the sports bottle for 75¢ at a thrift shop. The flip top lid is necessary to prevent it from pulling a vacuum when the birds drink the water from it.

It will keep the coop much dryer and the water clean. You just hang it on a chain with an S-hook and raise it as they grow. You want the height so they have to stand up and reach their necks a bit to activate the nipple. You can bring it in the house at night if the temps are due to drop below freezing then bring it back out in the morning with warm water in it and re-hang it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Agreed the brooder is extremely small, there's very little floor space, assuming you have 1 of each breed listed. I'd remove the play roost and maybe even switch to a smaller feeder for the time being to save on space, or move them to a larger set up.

What are outside temperatures like right now?

 

[TsBirds]

I do have 1 each. So 6 chix total. Temps are 30-40’s at night and 40’s-50’s during the day. I Can better pics of the coop when I get home. The whole coop is about 32 square feet total. Roosting den is about 15 square feet. As far as running, my plan was to give them a run during the day when not home and then (if the dog leaves them alone) give them the whole yard for a couple hours after I’m home where they can be better monitored. As fara as ventilation in the roosting den, I have a door inside the outer part of the coop that can be opened for air.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I do have 1 each. So 6 chix total. Temps are 30-40’s at night and 40’s-50’s during the day.

Temperatures aren't too bad yet, but they will need to be acclimated to outside temperatures before they can move out full time. Depending on how aggressively you lower their temperatures and expose them to outside temperatures they should be able to be out full time somewhere between 5 to 7 weeks.

The whole coop is about 32 square feet total. Roosting den is about 15 square feet. As far as running, my plan was to give them a run during the day when not home and then (if the dog leaves them alone) give them the whole yard for a couple hours after I’m home where they can be better monitored. As fara as ventilation in the roosting den, I have a door inside the outer part of the coop that can be opened for air.

I think there's some confusion in terminology. The coop is the enclosed housing where the roost and nest boxes are housed. The run is the protected outdoor area. I believe you're calling the coop "roosting den" and the run "coop," correct? I'm clarifying so we know what space you're working with. Because right now I see an elevated coop inside a run.

As far as space the recommended minimums are 4 sq ft per bird inside the coop, 10 sq ft per inside the run. If your run (what you call coop) is 32 sq ft you'd need about double that to meet the base minimum, which may or may not be enough space once they're grown. Space is a main factor in behavioral problems such as feather picking and bullying.

Ventilation needs to be available 24/7 in the coop. If by "door" you're talking about the pop door (the one the chickens go in and out of) that's too low and too small to provide enough ventilation for 6. Even in cold climates you want 1 sq ft ventilation per bird up high to let moisture out and reduce risk of frostbite.

I can give you instructions on how to convert a small coop/run combo into a larger coop-only, if that's something you're interested in. You will still need to add a proper sized run though.

One more thing, I just noticed the coop and run are sitting on some sort of wire mesh base? Chickens instinctively dig and they can get their toes caught on wire flooring. It's best to not have anything directly under the run. If you must have a layer of wire, then it needs to be buried as deep as possible to prevent them from digging down to it.

 

[TsBirds]

Please forgive my terminology. The “coop” is about 15 square feet. The “run” as built is 32 square feet however they will have much more room to roam than the “run” as I have more ground area around structure. They will have access to the open area during the day. The main door for the structure will be open for them to come and go as they please. I have a couple other options I will be exploring to give them even more run space. I’m certainly open to any options that may make it a more comfortable space for them. I will remove the wire floor per your suggestion. I have a concrete pad I can use temporarily to put the structure on to prevent predators from gaining access from underneath. I’ve read the concrete is a good floor especially for cleaning maintenance.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Please forgive my terminology. The “coop” is about 15 square feet. The “run” as built is 32 square feet however they will have much more room to roam than the “run” as I have more ground area around structure. They will have access to the open area during the day. The main door for the structure will be open for them to come and go as they please. I have a couple other options I will be exploring to give them even more run space. I’m certainly open to any options that may make it a more comfortable space for them. I will remove the wire floor per your suggestion. I have a concrete pad I can use temporarily to put the structure on to prevent predators from gaining access from underneath. I’ve read the concrete is a good floor especially for cleaning maintenance.

A bigger run will definitely help, and will also allow you to convert this into a coop-only to help meet space suggestions and minimize health and behavioral issues.

Here's my coop conversion spiel: To turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise or widthwise across the newly open space, depending on how much roost is needed. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Example of a modified prefab: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

Concrete may make it easier for cleaning (and to ward off predators) but because of the hardness you will want a good amount of bedding to provide cushioning, especially if you convert the whole unit into a coop, so birds won't have issues jumping off the roost onto the floor.