questions on making a brooder inside the coop

[junior67]

Possibly, how big are your hens? My "wide load" head hen managed to squeeze herself through a roughly 4" chick gap in my brooder. I found her inside stuffing herself with chick feed.

The ones I don't think I can keep out are my buttercups. One is tiny!! Then my CCL is pretty small. The rest are bigger being Cochins, brahmas, my OE is bigger, hmmm EE a bit smaller......

Guess if need be I can cut cardboard to fit in the door slide and make a smaller door. I still need to HWC the door as it is just a frame and my husband is making sheet metal tracks and removable doors for the chick doors. Will get pics asap.

Also has anyone had multiple ages brooded together? I will have chicks 3 weeks apart which many say they have joined new ones and 3 weeks fine.... But thinking the older group will need to be much older before I can open the chick doors....

 

[rosemarythyme]

The ones I don't think I can keep out are my buttercups. One is tiny!! Then my CCL is pretty small. The rest are bigger being Cochins, brahmas, my OE is bigger, hmmm EE a bit smaller......

Guess if need be I can cut cardboard to fit in the door slide and make a smaller door. I still need to HWC the door as it is just a frame and my husband is making sheet metal tracks and removable doors for the chick doors. Will get pics asap.

Also has anyone had multiple ages brooded together? I will have chicks 3 weeks apart which many say they have joined new ones and 3 weeks fine.... But thinking the older group will need to be much older before I can open the chick doors....

Yeah my Buttercup is a small fry, I have to anticipate it'll be hard to keep her out of a brooder in the future. It's not a huge problem I guess, as I do a 2-ply "chick opening" set up to start (so 2 gaps at brooder entrance that are about 3" wide, and then chicken wire around the entire brooder that's set up on bricks, so about a 2" gap there). Once the chicken wire layer goes away the chicks should be safe enough around the adults that they shouldn't have issue even if a hen squeezes in.

2 chick gaps in front of brooder (one on each side):

Additional chicken wire surround for the first full day of integration (it's not elevated in this photo, but it normally gets sat on top of the bricks around the edge, for about a 2" high gap). Brooder front gaps not used in this photo, but those would be on either side directly in front of brooder:

 

[aart]

Now the question... I made the chick doors 5" wide. Is that too big?

Yes. 3.5" is what I found to work.
I set it up before chicks arrived, with a feeder in there, kept making doors smaller until they older birds couldn't get thru. Took that measurement and added a piece of wood to make center door narrower.
This is the panel at the bottom of temporary wall in coop.

 

[McChooky]

Yes. 3.5" is what I found to work.
I set it up before chicks arrived, with a feeder in there, kept making doors smaller until they older birds couldn't get thru. Took that measurement and added a piece of wood to make center door narrower.
This is the panel at the bottom of temporary wall in coop.
View attachment 3438602

l love these little adjustable doors!It's a brilliant design!

 

[junior67]

ok tell me I shouldn't worry.. I am thinking of putting the chicks out in the brooder this weekend after I finish it up........ It is still getting down to 30-35*F at night and a day or two next week have lows in the 20's. days are 40-60. Last year it was a bit warmer when I brooded in the coop since I got my chicks mid April so they weren't out until closer to the end of April.

 

[jreardon1918]

ok tell me I shouldn't worry.. I am thinking of putting the chicks out in the brooder this weekend after I finish it up........ It is still getting down to 30-35*F at night and a day or two next week have lows in the 20's. days are 40-60. Last year it was a bit warmer when I brooded in the coop since I got my chicks mid April so they weren't out until closer to the end of April.

I think our chicks come in today. If they do, we will keep them inside for a few days. Then they go outside with the MHP. The weather near us should work just fine.

 

[junior67]

I think our chicks come in today. If they do, we will keep them inside for a few days. Then they go outside with the MHP. The weather near us should work just fine.

Thank you!!! I thought you had done it around this time of year. Mine will be a week old tomorrow so not super new even.

 

[jreardon1918]

Thank you!!! I thought you had done it around this time of year. Mine will be a week old tomorrow so not super new even.

They are in the basement. Here they are.? The light is an LED. So no extra heat. They know where the MHP is, but are eating and drinking. They will probably go outside Monday.

 

[junior67]

They are in the basement. Here they are.? The light is an LED. So no extra heat. They know where the MHP is, but are eating and drinking. They will probably go outside Monday.

They are so cute!!!! Mine are in my unheated basement as well.

 

[junior67]

Pic of the brooder right now. The sheet metal on the sides are going to be the chick doors, I measured wrong so those were put up temporarily for now. The whole HWC piece is the door to get in the brooder.