Questions About My Baby Chicks

[The Chicken-Boy]

Giving them clover and other greens on their food is great. Fruits and vegetables are good to keep them busy. Suet cages are very useful to hang in the brooder stuffed with greens.

 

[The Chicken-Boy]

Here's a link to a very useful book. It talks about both the care of chicks and adult chickens as well as housing and health care. This book gives the advice I would give, just in a more organised and accessible form.
https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Ever...13631&sr=1-1&keywords=a+chicken+in+every+yard

 

[Breannab12]

So what you are saying is that it is okay for them to be out in their coop?

Temperatures range 75(night)-100(2pm) degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Blooie]

Mine go outside when I get them and stay there. No indoor chick raising for me. In order to do well, chicks need time to adjust AND they need cool spots. If it's hot outside, they appreciate a nice tub of dirt to cool down, lots of ventilation, and plenty of cold, fresh, plain water. They are programmed to take care of their own heat and cooling requirements - notice a broody hen with chicks. She doesn't smother them with constant heat and she doesn't warm the entire space. She's just available when they get spooked, to sleep all night, and when they need a quick warm-up.....they scoot under her, soak in a little warmth, then they are back out scratching in the dirt, exploring, and learning to be chickens from watching her and the flock. If they don't need her, they stay close but they are certainly not "kept toasty warm" 24/7 under her. At a couple of weeks old, they don't all fit under her at one time anyway, but they've acclimated to ambient temperatures. This is true even when there is snow on the ground.

Mine never see a heat lamp. Ever. They never have anything but natural daylight/ nighttime dark cycles. I use Mama Heating Pad right outdoors in the run in a wire pen, even though our temps are in the 20s, dipping into the teens. The temperature on the floor of their Mama Heating Pad cave averages around 82 to 85 degrees. I only measured it once, then tossed the thermometer and let THEM tell me what they needed and let them regulate their own comfort. They thrived. Every batch, every time.

By 3 weeks old they aren't using MHP much at all. By 4 weeks the heating pad is off and the brooder pen is removed completely. I know your situation is the opposite - very warm outdoors - but the theory of letting them self-regulate their needs and comfort applies regardless. I just don't see how them being out when it's hot, then being moved back in where it's cooler but putting a lamp over them is making them much more comfortable, and you'll have to put them out eventually. Better to adjust to provide some relief from the heat and let them acclimate to ambient temperatures in the environment they'll soon have to live in full time, in my opinion. But you are there, I am not, and you know your situation and personal comfort level far better than I do.

 

[The_Miraculous_Pigmy_Owl]

@brennab12
I totally feel you!
I also live in Texas and the heat is so confusing I have decided to wait until late august, I'm sorry about chick no. 17! But good news is your chickens will be more than ready for winter (a reason to live in Texas because are winter barely reach below forty and mostly never (exception of near Oklahoma) reach 30! I'm waiting for my local feed store's birds to get older. Also like blooie said out side they should not need heat lamps.

 

[ronott1]

I agree that 16 chicks are a lot of chicks if you have confined space. You should have a bin about 16 by 16 minimum (or 136 square feet...or 1 square foot per chick to give them grow out space). Bigger would be better.

And you need good ventilation. I totally understand your parents not wanting them in the house as they are both noisy and create smell.

I too use pine shavings, but it will create dust. For indoor brooding I like pine pellets, as that holds smell even better, but that also creates dust.

I agree the shed is too hot. Do you have a rabbit type cage/hutch that you could put on a back porch?

and 85 to 90 is too hot for 2 week old chicks. Chicks do not need as much heat as the manuals say. They need the ability to warm up, then the ability to run around scratching, eating, drinking and pooping, which they should be doing a lot of by 2 weeks, even more by 3 weeks.

By 3 1/2 weeks of age, your chicks will have feathered wings and will be flying like sparrows...hence the use of a covered hutch on the back porch would be ideal.

You can create an elevated water system and self serve feeder in the water hutch that will allow those to stay clean. If you can, you can train them with a rabbit type drip water feeder, but that has to be observed for several days to be sure they have the idea.

Your aunt won't want to do more than check on them once or twice a day. With pine pellets, you only need to change the bedding every couple of days taking out. With the auto feeders, it could be filling once a day.

Good luck with them.
LofMc

 

[Tesumph]

So what you are saying is that it is okay for them to be out in their coop?

Temperatures range 75(night)-100(2pm) degrees Fahrenheit.

Yes, absolutely. Make sure your coop is securely wired, 100% snake and rat proof, and has plenty of ventilation.
I have been giving mine ice cubes in their water in the afternoon, and a tub of dirt for them to kick around and dust bathe in. Again, you should be much more worried about overheating than them being chilled. Mine slept under a big stuffed bear at night when they were very tiny, and still occasionally run to it when they get spooked at almost 3 weeks.

Some small changes have been made since these photos but the set-up is the same. My goal is to get them as acclimated to the natural Texas heat as possible so they don’t suffer later, and so far they’re doing great. They don’t have access to the run just yet, the back wall is still wired up.

 

[Breannab12]

Good news guys! We finished off our coop this morning and got the chicks out there. They’re running and flying around happily. My parents are happy. It’s a win-win situation! I’ll be keeping a close eye on them until we leave. Later today we will be headed to the store to get some more waterers and feeders. I’m so excited!

 

[Blooie]

Congrats! Now when chicken math rears its head again, you know you can skip the indoor thing completely and start 'em right outdoors!

Oh, be forewarned - the happy chicks of today may well become the sulky, "I-don't-wanna-be-out-here-it's-dark-out-here-bring-me-in-Mama" chicks of tonight. They probably won't be as delighted with the change in their arrangements once that sun gets low and starts going down. So be prepared, check on them, make sure they are well protected from predators, then go inside and turn up the volume on the TV. If you expect it, you won't panic and give in later. Good luck!

 

[The Chicken-Boy]

So glad everything is going well!