questions. New to chicks

[junior67]

Chicken dust and dander (which is about as pleasant to clean as grease in a kitchen) can make it a good 6' out in every direction from the brooder, so I wouldn't have it close to any furniture if I could help it.

hmmm my house is small I don't think I have a spot in my house that a crate can fit with no furniture 6' around it. LOL My living room is wood floors but does have a throw rug. My basement just has cement floors. but we do have a pool table down there with a cover on it that they would have to be really close to....... now not sure where it will be best to keep them.....

 

[rosemarythyme]

My living room is wood floors but does have a throw rug. My basement just has cement floors. but we do have a pool table down there with a cover on it that they would have to be really close to....... now not sure where it will be best to keep them.....

I'd remove the rug for the time being, and then maybe break down some cardboard boxes to cover any upholstered surface nearby that may be difficult to clean.

 

[MarciaN]

Mama Heating Pad. Basically, what you've built there.

Oh I see. And about the mess. This is our first time using straw. TS was out of pine shavings. As of now it isn't terrible because there so small. It was so messy putting in tho, and my husband did say next time we will use pine shavings. My last and first hatch we used large shavings. But at that time we only had 3 and they were in a huge plastic container. Kept the mess contained but omg just 3 and it had to be changed atleast every 5-7 days once they got larger or it smelt pretty terrible! We decided to put ours in front of the large glass door for real light, last time we used a heat lamp. So this time is totally different then our first hatch, but is working well so far!

 

[junior67]

I'd remove the rug for the time being, and then maybe break down some cardboard boxes to cover any upholstered surface nearby that may be difficult to clean.

maybe we can rearrange things so there is a corner that is kinda open to put them and them put plastic on the walls around them and maybe dropping down separating the furniture from where they are? would that work? trying to figure something out and where to put them to keep mess to a minimum in my tiny house. haahaa.

 

[rosemarythyme]

maybe we can rearrange things so there is a corner that is kinda open to put them and them put plastic on the walls around them and maybe dropping down separating the furniture from where they are? would that work? trying to figure something out and where to put them to keep mess to a minimum in my tiny house. haahaa.

That would work too. I know people brood in their homes all the time but I was grossed out by what I was scrubbing off the walls.

 

[junior67]

That would work too. I know people brood in their homes all the time but I was grossed out by what I was scrubbing off the walls.

Thanks. Will have to figure this out. Guess that is one good point of having a bit under 7 weeks till I get them, will give me time to figure it out. haahaa.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

We raised our 6 chicks last March in our house. I used an old toddler exercise pen (plastic octagon shaped contraption) that we had used to house our small dog as a puppy when we weren't home and I plan on using it again when we get ducklings. I draped in a tarp and used bungee cords to secure it to the pen frame. When we first got the chicks home, I configured the pen to be smaller in a square and then when they were bigger I stretched it to its full size in a rectangular shape.

I ended up putting bird netting over the entire thing when the chicks got older because they could easily jump on the waterer or feeder and fly over the sides.

I plan on doing the same thing when we get ducklings. However, I plan to incorporate straw more than the shavings we used with the chicks. It was very very very dusty. The entire causeway area that housed their pen was covered in dust and after I dusted and vacuumed, the dust returned in a day.

We used the heating pad/mama pad for our six chicks and it worked great! I'm going to try it again with the ducklings. I'm not too keen on having heat lamps perched and on all hours. Our six chickies would go under the pad since I had it secured to a cookie drying rack. If they got too hot, they would be halfway under or they'd go on top. I also eventually put the setting on the lowest setting and then when I noticed they weren't really using it, I took it out. I figured they were old enough by then.

We moved ours out after 6 weeks of being inside. At that point, they were about 7 weeks old since we got them when they were 3-5 days old from Tractor Supply. They were pretty feathered in by then and it was the beginning of May so it was warming up outside.

Best of luck to you! BYC is amazing. I've gotten so much help, support, and ideas on here. Enjoy those chickies too! They grow up so quick. I miss those little chirps every day and can't wait to hear some little sounds from our ducklings.

 

[junior67]

We raised our 6 chicks last March in our house. I used an old toddler exercise pen (plastic octagon shaped contraption) that we had used to house our small dog as a puppy when we weren't home and I plan on using it again when we get ducklings. I draped in a tarp and used bungee cords to secure it to the pen frame. When we first got the chicks home, I configured the pen to be smaller in a square and then when they were bigger I stretched it to its full size in a rectangular shape.

View attachment 2529069

View attachment 2529072

I ended up putting bird netting over the entire thing when the chicks got older because they could easily jump on the waterer or feeder and fly over the sides.

I plan on doing the same thing when we get ducklings. However, I plan to incorporate straw more than the shavings we used with the chicks. It was very very very dusty. The entire causeway area that housed their pen was covered in dust and after I dusted and vacuumed, the dust returned in a day.

We used the heating pad/mama pad for our six chicks and it worked great! I'm going to try it again with the ducklings. I'm not too keen on having heat lamps perched and on all hours. Our six chickies would go under the pad since I had it secured to a cookie drying rack. If they got too hot, they would be halfway under or they'd go on top. I also eventually put the setting on the lowest setting and then when I noticed they weren't really using it, I took it out. I figured they were old enough by then.

We moved ours out after 6 weeks of being inside. At that point, they were about 7 weeks old since we got them when they were 3-5 days old from Tractor Supply. They were pretty feathered in by then and it was the beginning of May so it was warming up outside.

View attachment 2529074

Best of luck to you! BYC is amazing. I've gotten so much help, support, and ideas on here. Enjoy those chickies too! They grow up so quick. I miss those little chirps every day and can't wait to hear some little sounds from our ducklings.

so cute!!!!!!!! did you put the heating pad under or above the cookie rack? I have seen both and not sure what is best.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

so cute!!!!!!!! did you put the heating pad under or above the cookie rack? I have seen both and not sure what is best.

We put the heating pad above the cookie rack and secured it with small bungee cords. I then covered the heating pad with a plastic bag and mailing tape so I could wipe any messes and protect the heating pad. (It worked great. You'd never know the heating pad was used for chicks and we use it for human ailments just like before.) This was then covered by an old pillowcase that I knew would get ruined eventually. I probably could have washed it if I wanted to, but it was old to begin with and super gross in the end. Sometimes, I would put paper towel on the top of it to keep it from getting too messy, but then the chicks started chewing on the paper towel. It worked really well. When the chicks got bigger, I had it propped up on some old tiles so they could more easily get under it. I will probably do something similar with the ducks since they are taller than chicks.
I started out on the medium setting for a few weeks, then to low, then didn't use it once the chicks didn't seem to want it anymore. I checked to make sure the rack never got too warm or hot with the pad, and it was just right!

 

[Happy hen lover]

You can brood them outside in the coop - keeps the mess out of the house and there's no need to transition them out in that case. As long as the heat pad is in a draft free spot they should be fine even down to close to freezing temps (you can add an towel or two around it to help hold heat in if needed). If you want them friendlier just visit them several times a day, I can't say the chicks I've brooded indoors are any more or less friendly than the ones brooded outdoors.

This is my outdoor brooding set up: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ and yes I use a heating pad.

If you absolutely want to brood indoors, keep in mind they generate a lot of "dust" that will get on anything nearby, so place the brooder somewhere you don't mind getting dirty or is at least easy to clean. As far as crate size, since you mentioned getting a dog later, get one that will fit the size of dog you're planning to get (so if a big dog, then get a big

Chicken dust and dander (which is about as pleasant to clean as grease in a kitchen) can make it a good 6' out in every direction from the brooder, so I wouldn't have it close to any furniture if I could help it.

Also the noise for 6 weeks. I agree with the " spend time every day with them" . I used to feed my first 3 chicks scrambled eggs and they still eat out of my hand and those chicks are the friendliest to both me and my husband. We got ours at 8 weeks of age but was able to train them to be friendly