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Hello! Welcome to BYC! Again, great advice from DobieLover. Our first year brooding chicks we had them in an unfinished spare room. I would not do that again! Way too dusty! Ever since that first year Brooder setup went to my pole barn. I`m not sure I would do that again either! Likely take me a month of Sundays to clean up the dust!😳 I think I will build something specifically for brooding. Good luck with your flock! 😊
 
Welcome! and best wishes with your upcoming chickens! I agree with the other posters and their many excellent recommendations. Brooding that many chicks inside would be way too dusty/smelly. They will outgrow those boxes way faster than what you might think. I ended up getting chicks later last year, I only had 11. I started them in a spare room then moved them to an unused bathroom by the attached garage, which they also outgrew pretty quickly. I spent a long time cleaning up and disinfecting from that. The dust and smell was a constant losing battle. I had a new coop and run that I was finishing but I ran into a construction problem and ended up not getting it finished before winter set in. So they ended up living all winter on a good sized closed in back porch which was ok but, again, clean up took a long time and that dust gets in everything and everywhere! If I could stress one thing - I should have had my coop completed, set up ready for use, tested as predator proof and completely functional before I got the chicks. If you haven't ordered the chicks yet, you seriously may want to reconsider until your coop/run is finished.
 
DobieLover said:
Hello Lisa, and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

I have never once brooded chicks in my house. There is absolutely no reason you cannot brood them directly in your coop with the brooder plate. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, will be much happier that way. I cannot fathom the amount of dust and stench 30 chicks would cause inside your house.

It won't be too cold either. I have brooded chicks outdoors with a brooder plate in late April / early May in New York when the temperatures dipped into the low 20s at night and they all thrived. As long as their space is draft free and kept dry they will do very well.

I used one brooder plate with a towel thrown over it for 15 chicks. You with need at least 2 large plates pushed together to cover 30 chicks.
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I would also take the time to make 2 or three of these. They help tremendously with keeping the brooder dry and the chicks water clean. You can have an electrolyte solution in one and fresh in the other. You just raise the bottle one chain link at a time as the chicks grow.
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Can the chicks drink from the nipple immediately upon arrival or should they start with a traditional waterer?

To clarify, it is better to have both brooding plates directly next to each other and not spaced out?

What is the purpose of the towel?
 
DLA said:
Welcome! and best wishes with your upcoming chickens! I agree with the other posters and their many excellent recommendations. Brooding that many chicks inside would be way too dusty/smelly. They will outgrow those boxes way faster than what you might think. I ended up getting chicks later last year, I only had 11. I started them in a spare room then moved them to an unused bathroom by the attached garage, which they also outgrew pretty quickly. I spent a long time cleaning up and disinfecting from that. The dust and smell was a constant losing battle. I had a new coop and run that I was finishing but I ran into a construction problem and ended up not getting it finished before winter set in. So they ended up living all winter on a good sized closed in back porch which was ok but, again, clean up took a long time and that dust gets in everything and everywhere! If I could stress one thing - I should have had my coop completed, set up ready for use, tested as predator proof and completely functional before I got the chicks. If you haven't ordered the chicks yet, you seriously may want to reconsider until your coop/run is finished.
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Yes I am now thinking I need to have the coop finished by October when the chicks come. Fortunately I am married to an extremely handy man and am quite handy myself! Going to be a lot of work and I wish we didn't have those darn wasps in there.
 
Collieoftheborder said:
Yes I am now thinking I need to have the coop finished by October when the chicks come. Fortunately I am married to an extremely handy man and am quite handy myself! Going to be a lot of work and I wish we didn't have those darn wasps in there.
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Buy the spray that goes out 20-25'...and run.

I use an old towel to keep the warmth in and to keep the feces off the plate.
 

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