NEWBE

Pics
Date sort Score sort
Welcome Keith! I'm glad you are doing your research before getting your little flock. My recommendations:

Get your coop built before you get your chicks. You'll need a minimum of 4 s.f./bird in the coop and 10 s.f. in the run per bird. Remember that chicken wire will keep your birds in, but will not keep predators out. to be predator safe, you will need 1/2" welded hdw. cloth covering all openings, and a skirt buried around the perimeter of your run. Run should also be covered to keep out climbing or flying predators.

For your coop, I recommend a minimum size of 4 x 8, walk in style. Beware that prefab coops are almost always poorly designed and do not meet the needs of the flock or the flock owner. They ALL falsely advertise the number of birds that they can house.

If you wire your coop for electric, or have a construction grade extension cord, you can brood your chicks right in the coop. This will keep the mess out of your house, and give your chicks the room they need. They double their size and space requirements every week! (by the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, I recommend 2 s.f. of open space per chick.) Mama heating pad cave style is the most natural heating system you can provide for your chicks. It's also much safer than a heat lamp. @Blooie has an excellent article and thread devoted to the concept.
 
Thanks, @lazy gardener . We have an entire thread dedicated to raising chicks using Mama Heating Pad and it's a thread that welcomes new members, encourages, shares ideas, and has a Broody Brigade always willing to step in and help. No quibbling there - our goal is to make this simple idea achievable and everyone steps in to help.

You may look it over, decide it's just too far from the accepted way of raising chicks, and that's fine. You are there, we aren't, and you know your setup and personal comfort zone better than we do. But aside from a broody hen, there is (to our minds) no more natural way to raise chicks. It warms them directly, gives them a dark, secure place if they get spooked, provides them with natural day/night cycles from Day One, and is deceptively easy to achieve. They behave just as they do with a Mother Hen - they duck underneath, sit on top, lay around the sides, explore, and their entire environment isn't heated so most of us think they feather out faster. Might be worth a look, and we'd sure welcome you! Welcome to BYC!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom