some questions on baby chicks.

[Jakoda]

Just joined, LOVE this site,

I will be getting 8 baby chickens the beginning of june..I have a couple of questions I'm hoping the you more experienced chicken owners could answer and thanks in advance.

1. the chicks will be day old , planning on putting them in a 20 gallon aquarium with screen top
Is this an ok set up ? As they get bigger, plan on using a BIG parrot cage I have, ok? not ok?

2. Have a heat lamp, do I need to have it on 24/7 ? Or say, at nite, could I wrap the aquarium with a nice thick quilt (they will be inside the house)

3. How long to keep using a heat lamp as in age of chicks?

4. Am converting part of my 12 x 30 shed as a 'coop',,plan on using one end that will be
4 x 12 ,, the 'sides' inside,(to block off) will be 4 ft plywood/with screen/mesh from the top of plywood to loft, which will make top of chicken area about 5.5-6ft high, to big? to small?

shed is not insulated, does have a couple of vents, one window in the chicken area (I'm thinking the mesh top have will provide light from the other areas of the 'shed'. sound ok? not ok?

5. outside run area will be 12 x 18 / 5ft high mesh. The shed is inside my fenced in yard I do have alot of 'critters' around, the chickens will not be free range (atleast not right away and never unsupervised), and shut in at nite. to small? ok?

the breeds I am getting are 2 of each,,buff orpingtons, astrolorps, silver wyandottes, and speckled sussex..

Any helpful hints or comments are appreciated..I've been doing alot of reading here as well

Thanks
Diane

 

[soffeann1997]

1. Sounds good just make sure they have a heat source while younger than 4 weeks.

2. Should use a heat lamp a quilt will only work off of body heat to keep us warm it won't do much for chicks.

3. 4 weeks is my suggestion.

4. Sounds good as long as it won't get to hot in there or to cold in winter. But you can always use a heat lamp in the winter if needed.

5. Perfect.

Have fun and good luck! Chickens are always fun.

 

[Jakoda]

thanks for the response. The shed is close enough to an "outlet" if I think they need heat, I'm in CT, and have a few friends with chickens who seem to never use 'heat', and are in uninsulated buildings, smaller flocks than I will have, we've had pretty mild winters never below zero, so hopefully they will be ok

Thanks again

 

[soffeann1997]

No problem, have fun.