size and when to move the peeps

[ebonykawai]

Still getting ready over here. A major question I have is, with the rubbermaid container brooders (the big 45 gallon ones), how long can they stay in there before getting too big? I'll have 6 RIRs. When do people usually move them, and what do you move them to if it's not the coop? The babies are coming March 17th, I called and had them change the ship date for me so 1) the weather would be warmer for shipping and 2) it would be much warmer outside by the time they are 6 weeks old, so hopefully I won't need to deal with moving them too much.

Will I need to start thinking about a bigger place to hold them before 6 weeks, when they outgrow the rubbermaid container? I was trying to build them a 3x4 brooder out of wood but that's not going to work out. I don't have a lot of tools for clean straight cuts at the moment.

 

[brooster]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30737

 

[ebonykawai]

I'm not sure that link answered my question. I guess I'll re-phrase it.

If you keep your chicks in a rubbermaid brooder, how long do you keep them in it? Thanks!

 

[muddler6]

You will need to make sure they fether out before they go outside, if you are not mixing them with other birds it is easier. I think it was 3 or 4 weeks before I moved mine outside last year, but I got them in April you can always add a heat source to the coop if you feel it is safe to do so, I have 2 ceramic light fixtures in my coop with regular light bulbs, I normally only have one on at a time, but for the days this past winter when it got really cold, I took a clip-on heat lamp out, attached it to the rafter for a little more heat and closed the door at night. But that was in the nights it was down to 5 degrees, brrrrrrrrrr! Hope this helps some.

 

[ebonykawai]

Yes, thanks! Another stupid question: how do you know when they are fully feathered? I've never had chicks before. Is there a specific time when they should be done, or do you need to watch and see if all their fluff is gone?

They are the only ones moving into the coop, no one else is there, these are my first chickens. I'm glad to know they can go out earlier than I thought!

 

[muddler6]

When they lose all the fluff and look like real chickens. Don't forget to start getting them use to colder temps by reducing the temp in the brooder a little at a time. I think the standard on that I read was 5 degrees per week. But make sure they are moving around the brooder on their own and don't stay huddled together in a group all the time. If that happens they are too cold and need to be a little warmer or more time to adjust. Getting them in March there is still a chance of some pretty cold nights and I would make sure they keep dry. I covered my run with plastic sheeting for the winter (you can see what I did by clicking on the blue link below to view my page). I am going to open the end of the A-frame to let air in, but keep the frame covered for a while to keep them dry until the weather gets more consistent. And trust me, there are no stupid, questions, I asked a lot of the same ones when I started too.