One week and I'm in love with my girls BUT questions keep popping up

[PVILLAGO]

I've made it through week one with my baby chicks and I am so in love with them it's crazy. I've named7 of the 10 because the 3 have not presented with a name that makes me think the name "suits
their personalities. But they are getting tail feathers and wing feathers. I'm so excited to see what they will look like when they get older. My #1 question NOW is they are jumping on top of the brooder and are flying a bit. I've added more cardboard walls but I'm still worried they will fly the coop so to speak. I've read about people putting wire over the coop but would like to hear some suggestions. I thought about building a frame to put over their space that way it will be easier to remove to clean it because I am doing that 2 or 3xs a time. Their temporary coop is cardboard boxes so it can't be heavy. I managed to get through a few that developed pasty butt but it seems to have resolved. #2 how long do you add the sav a chick to their water? #3 It's fixing to get into the 20's and I want to put a radiant barrier heater in the coop to take the chill out of the coop because it's big and I have horse mats on the floor and there aren't drafts it's just a big space that's cold. Would that be ok to do that as well as leave the heat lamp over the brood area. The only area that doesn't have a lamp is where I have their feed and water.

 

[Brooks_]

Glad you're enjoying them.
1 chicken wire with a light weight frame should work
2 a day or two with plain water available also
3 I was very happy with the results from a brooder plate. A warm area and a cool area, they'll figure it out.

 

[3KillerBs]

1. I forget, are the chicks inside or out in their coop in a brooder? If the latter, you can start letting them have more space to explore -- going out into the cold area then coming back to their heat as they need to (just make sure there aren't any places where they can be trapped away from heat.

2. Give the save-a-chick in a separate waterer with plain water also available.

3. They don't need everywhere to be warm, just the one spot that acts as an artificial hen.

 

[PVILLAGO]

1. I forget, are the chicks inside or out in their coop in a brooder? If the latter, you can start letting them have more space to explore -- going out into the cold area then coming back to their heat as they need to (just make sure there aren't any places where they can be trapped away from heat.

2. Give the save-a-chick in a separate waterer with plain water also available.

3. They don't need everywhere to be warm, just the one spot that acts as an artificial hen.

They are in the coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

They are in the coop.

If the coop is draft-free down at chick level they're probably old enough to take the cardboard out and give them freedom to roam.

You can check on them to make sure that they know where their heat is once the cardboard is gone but they should be fine.

You can see how I took down the barrier once the chicks were used to finding the heat in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/introducing-the-ideal-dozen.1469451/

If necessary, you can tuck them into the heat at night. I had to do that with another batch.

 

[Brooks_]

They are in the coop.

I agree with 3KillerBs, looks like you can remove the cardboard. I can't tell if that's ambient light, a light bulb, or a heat lamp in there...if a heat lamp, ditch it. The brooder plate is enough.

 

[PVILLAGO]

It is draft free but still cold at their level. Mine ate 1wk old. Getting tail feathers and feathers on their wingd

I agree with 3KillerBs, looks like you can remove the cardboard. I can't tell if that's ambient light, a light bulb, or a heat lamp in there...if a heat lamp, ditch it. The brooder plate is enough.

It's a heat lamp
At 1wk old i was scared to remove the lamp. They are still in the coop and have not been outside. I thought they needed feathers.. i have started stepping down temp by 5° so its 85° now. Will remove heat lamp. Thank you

 

[Brooks_]

As long as they know where the warmth is, they'll be fine.

 

[3KillerBs]

Just make sure they know where to go to get warm and they'll be fine.

You'll probably feel better tucking them in at night after it gets dark.

 

[Chickin Out]

It is draft free but still cold at their level. Mine ate 1wk old. Getting tail feathers and feathers on their wingd

It's a heat lamp
At 1wk old i was scared to remove the lamp. They are still in the coop and have not been outside. I thought they needed feathers.. i have started stepping down temp by 5° so its 85° now. Will remove heat lamp. Thank you

At one week old they still need a lot of heat. I would not remove the cardboard, maybe not even the lamp. Do they have adequate protection against rodents and/or snakes?