Hi everyone, I have been reading posts and learning lots. I have 8 chicks scheduled to come the first week in August. I've never had chicks before so I really appreciate all the great tips and information here. We have been building our coop in the garage, and I was planning on having the chicks in the garage until they're old enough to go out. Would it make sense to use their coop as their brooder? Then when they move outside they would know that's their home? Also, how much chick starter should I expect to need? I ordered 2 buff orpingtons, 2 red star, 2 black austrolorp, and 2 easter eggers. Of course, my main concern now is this heat! I hope they don't come roasted I'm very excited about my chicks and can't wait to meet them. Rochelle
Yes, by all means you can use the coop as a brooder. 8 chicks- I'd get get a 50# bag if that is available. It will be cheaper. They will eat 1# and waste about 49#. My 3 chicks have gone through about 25-30 lbs in 4 months. A lot has been wasted, but heck it is not very expensive. Imp
and congrats on the chicks. Without seeing the coop, its hard to answer on whether it would also make a good brooder but...probably. As long as you have a way to hook up a heat lamp and room for food/water, it should work. I would buy a 50lb bag of feed and just keep feeding it until it is gone. They will go through a surprising amount, but it should take you until they are 6-8 weeks old. They can stay on chick starter all the way through to laying age, or when that first bag is gone, you can switch to a grower formula. As long as you don't offer layer feed (too much calcium for non-laying chicks), there are not right or wrong answers. I've fed grower to newly hatched chicks and they did just fine - it was what I had on hand.
congrats and welcome!. If your coop is easily moved then i'd say why not let it be the brooder.. as long as it's safe and you can keep them warm, I hope to Embark on Raising my own chicks, as of rite now we have a broody hen who hatched 11 chicks a week ago. be nice to have some chicks who are tame enough to come to me instead of run in fear like our lil Strays do.
I am new to chickens also--my girls just turned 3 weeks. I have 6 Dominiques and 1 Black Astrolorp. I have been keeping them inside our house in my laundry room. I am using a large dog crate as their brooder. My chicken coop isn't done being built yet, since the weathers been warm last week I started bringing them outside for awhile and putting them in a large rabbit hutch to get some fresh air. They love being outside. Good luck with your new chicks when they arrive.
Thanks all. The coop can be moved easily right now. We will take the roof off so I can put wire and a lamp over them. When we put the roof on it's probably too heavy to lift. I don't think I can post pictures yet. I'm sharing an order with another lady so my other concern is knowing which chicks are mine. I know she ordered some bantams so those will be easy to tell but I'm not sure what else she ordered. Hopefully we'll know whose are whose (grin).
Congrats on the impending chicks. Had a thought- make sure there are no little gaps, holes etc where the chicks can get out or into trouble. They are masters at finding trouble, and can fit into tiny places. Imp
I may put them in a container in the coop for a week or two, I know they will grow fast but I haven't done this before so I don't know how long it will take them to outgrow a box
rgraf-- Welcome and congrats on the soon to be arriving chicks. Hopefully all will go smoothly for you and your friend-- And the who's who will be easy to sort out. Otherwise, you may want to trade later on. another consideration for your coop-as-brooder will be ability to reach to get any chicks that you may need to pick up. You probably have already thought of this. I hope the post office does a good job and your chickes arrive safe and sound. Looking forward to your pictures when the time is right. How exciting!
