Raising baby chicks

[Ernie G]

I p lan on raising 6 baby chicks. Can someone give me the dimensions for building a wood box to raise them in? and how long before I can introduce them to a coop?

 

[Ernie G]

Any other ideas what to raise the chicks in?

 

[cafarmgirl]

I raise mine in a wood box approximately 2 x 4 feet with a framed wire cover, I raise 6 or 8 at a time in there. At about 3 weeks old they start going outside for several hours a day, weather permitting. I move them to their coop at 5 weeks old, when they are mostly fully feathered. If the weather is cold I will add a heat lamp at first while they acclimate but it's not generally an issue where I live.

Other ideas for a brooder: a large melon or pumpkin crate from the grocery store, an appliance box like from a refrigerator, some people use plastic kiddie pools with wire over the top or large stock water tanks. I've even used a couple of toilet paper boxes with the ends cut off and duct taped together. Some people also use large Rubbermaid containers.

Whatever you decide to use just don't go to small. They do get bored in there after a while and if they are to crowded then you can start having pecking problems. You also need to consider your heat source and how you will attach it to whatever you choose to use.

 

[Ernie G]

I live in west virginia, so I am in an all climate zone. Not sure if I will be able to get them in a coop that early.

 

[Ernie G]

Also I don't plan on having electric in my coop .Does anyone think that will be a problem?

 

[ocap]

I make a large oval out of "Rubber half inch hardware cloth", I see it at Lowe's, it gives the chicks enough room to get away from the heat lamp. Make sure the seam is tight at the bottom where the two ends overlap. The baby chicks will find any hole. They can stay in that until they fly over the 2 foot top then they are ready for your coop.

 

[ocap]

electricity is a luxury not a necessity in a chicken coop.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Also I don't plan on having electric in my coop .Does anyone think that will be a problem?

It depends. It depends on how your coop is built and what your summers are like. Heat is much more a problem for chickens then cold. My birds would not have survived the heat wave we had last summer without the fans I had running 24/7 in their coops. Winter is a different story. As long as they are sheltered from the wind and the wet but still have proper ventilation they will be fine.

If you will need to keep your birds in their brooder longer then 5 weeks then you will definitely need to make sure to make you have a large enough brooder.