New to Chickens and have Brooder and Vacine questions

[dbounds10]

Hi everyone - I got 6 girls yesterday and have them in a very large cardboard box right now (in my house) with a red heat lamp and pine shavings. They all seem happy and healthy. I think I should move them to the garage but am worried about the cold. It has been in the 40's at night recently.

My questions are

1. - What is the best "temporary" brooder ideas you have. I will need to move them soon and was thinking about a large pastic tub or a dog crate.

2. - Will the garage be ok for them (not to cold)

3. - Found out the chicks I got have not been vacinated for Mearicks. I need to know if I should vacinate and if so, I need to know where to get it and how to administer. I have raised dogs for years and have given them shots but these little things seem so fragile I dont want to go jamming a needle in them the wrong way. However, I also dont have a avian vet near by nor do I want to spend a ton of money getting the shots.

Any other advise would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Dana

 

[Fred's Hens]

I don't vaccinate so I cannot help you with that decision. Since I practice good segregation, I've have no issues to date.

I move my 5 week old chick out to the barn, into a 8'x12' grow out pen. They use every square inch of it to run, jump and mess around. They need lots of space. Straw or chips on the floor. I leave the heat lamp on for them, with a timer to come on at 5 pm and it stays on until 9 am the next morning. It is up higher, say 24". It is shielded and double supported. It is perhaps 80F, maybe, under the light.

I find that by the time they are 6 weeks old and feathered out, they do not like excess heat anymore. They self regulate. They rarely pass under the lamp. By week 8, the light gets removed. Once the ambient temperatures are in the 60's by day and 50's by night, young chickens just don't need much artificial heat source additions and don't actually care for it. In a natural environment, they'd be out from under the hen's wings at that age and pretty much on their own.

 

[Judy]

You'll have to check the temp at night in the garage to be sure, but many do this. Lots of ideas for brooders on this site. I'll give you a link about vaccinating backyard flocks.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps030