Outgrowing the Brooder Box - Can I move them Yet?

[The Monkey Mama]

I'm sorry, I should have said that they have already been outside since they were 2-3 weeks old - they were in an inside brooder box till then, and have been in an outside much larger box [3x4] with a light [just a 100 watt light bulb] since they were 2-3 weeks old.

I can't run an extension cord to the coop because I have a lab who loves to chew electrical wire [and everything else]. He's a good boy, doesn't hurt the chickens and even herds them back in the coop, but he has a definite "thing" for chewing, even though he's 3.5 years old now and not a puppy any more. I can look into some conduit maybe [though he'd probably chew that too], but that will be a while before I can go shopping for that and get it laid, maybe buried.

Thanks!

Kelly

 

[gkeesling]

I have 12 Barr Rock pullets that got to big for their box at 4 weeks ( a week ago, they are 5 weeks now). I moved them out to the coop. I live in East Central Indiana and it's gotten down in the low 20's a few nights so far. I don't have electricity in the coop but I ran an extension cord out to it and moved their heat lamps out there. My coop and run is in the corner of the field where I keep my steers. They will chew anything they can get their mouths on. I ran a pole up one of my fence posts and put the extension cord over their heads and into the top part of the coop. Everying thing is workout out well. They do huddle in the coop together on the real cold nights and no one has suffocated yet.

 

[lolis1984]

you should also be concerned about how the other chickens will treat you new chicks. i put some chicks that i thought would be able to handle the weather (i live in san diego so its always mostly warm) but the real problem was the other brids. They injured 3 chicks, one i had to cull and the others are in the chicken hospital. i moved them back inside and put them in a bigger box for now

 

[The Monkey Mama]

Thanks, I've decided to just keep them in their brooder box for now because I won't be able to get electric out to that coop. They are picking each other now [18 chicks in a 4x3 brooder box]. But I'd rather they pick each other than freeze to death of course.

lolis1984, they would be in the coop all by themselves, I'd be moving the grown chickens that are in there now. I wouldn't want to mix them with the full grown ones yet for exactly the reason you said.

Thanks for the feedback!

Kelly