New member question...

[Bklyn Chicks]

Hello All,

I'm a newbie to raising chickens. We live in NYC and constructed a coop in our backyard. We currently have (15) chicks in a brooder in the house, but plan to give 9 away to a friend and keep 6. I was wondering if we could move them to the coop, as they seem to be crowded in the brooder, which is 18" x 36" and we had to put a screen over it because they are now able to fly out of it. Current temps are highs in the mid 80's and lows in the mid to high 60's. The coop is fully enclosed, so no danger of predators and has a roof over the run area, so they would be protected from the rain. Also, would they still need the heat lamp in the coop?
TIA for any advice.

 

[Bklyn Chicks]

Sorry I forgot to mention that they are currently 3 weeks old...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC!

The brooder is definitely too small for that number of birds and they need to be moved before serious issues begin to arise from the overcrowding. What are the dimensions of the coop and run they will be moved to? When you say that it is "predator proof" can you please elaborate - only asking as one person's idea of secure may be anything but.
As to the heat - that is something you will need to play by ear. Be prepared to provide warmth at first as the acclimate, IF they tell you that they need it but only use the bare minimum amount of supplemental heat needed and for only as long as it takes to wean them off it all togeteher.

 

[Bklyn Chicks]

The coop is 48" x 80" not including the nesting boxes. We copied the design of the coop off of one we saw on "The Art of Doing Stuff's" website (see attached photo). Is the brooder big enough for 6 chicks for another week?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The coop is 48" x 80" not including the nesting boxes. We copied the design of the coop off of one we saw on "The Art of Doing Stuff's" website (see attached photo). Is the brooder big enough for 6 chicks for another week?

Are those dimensions for the entire enclosure or just the coop itself? For clarity's sake, "coop" refers to the house unit itself and "run" is the enclosed yard that the birds go out into which is attached to or surrounds the coop. I ask because from this angle it looks like those dimensions would account for the entire unit (coop and run). Will the birds be confined 24/7 or free ranging with access to this enclosure at will? What breed(s) are the six birds you will be keeping in this setup?
No, the brooder is not large enough for even six chicks. - you want 1-2 square feet per chick (not counting space occupied by feed/water dispensers) and the brooder you have is only 4.5 square feet total.....there is no such thing as allowing too much room to your birds, but too little is a recipe for all sorts of negative outcomes.

 

[Bklyn Chicks]

Those are the dimensions for the entire enclosure. The bottom part is the run and up the steps is the coop. The birds will be confined most of the time, with 3-4 hours of free range in our backyard. The breeds we will have are 2 Easter eggers, 2 RIR, and 2 sliver laced Wyandottes. Now you're starting to scare me. What kind of negative outcomes?

 

[nj2wv]

welcome to BYC !!

 

[drumstick diva]

Rule of thumb is 4-5 sq.feet per bird in the coop, excluding nest boxes and roosts. 10 sq feet per bird in the outdoor run. Dimensions are generally length x width, birds don't spend that much time jumping up and down to height is not that important,

Chickens get very cranky about being over crowded, they can start off with feather pulling , fighting, bullying others away from feed and water and at worst extreme cannibalism.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!