Space requirements?

[Frosty]

I don't recall ever seeing this addressed, if it was I missed it. My hen has started laying, and while I am not holding out a lot of hope that the eggs are fertile I thought I would ask so that I can plan 'just in case'. If these eggs do actually hatch, it won't be until towards the end of August. That will mean that the chicks will be 2 to 2 1/2 months old going into a North Dakota winter, and I am worried that they will be too young to handle it. If that is the case, I might have to keep them in the house for the winter. My daughter doesn't live at home anymore, so I figure her room is open to set something up. If they do have to stay in, I figure they will probably be close to 8 months old or older before the weather is settled enough to put them outside. So, for chicks up to 8 months old, how much space should I plan on per bird?

 

[Yoda]

What do you keep your peas in? I would seperate a section and place a heat lamp inside for them to go under if they get cold. I have a large dog crate (pen) that I put in the shed for the younger ones and place the heat lamp ontop of it. After a few days (cleaning day) I let them walk around in the shed but keep the door open so at night the birds can go back into the crate to sleep. That worked for me last year and will do it again this year LOL.

 

[Kedreeva]

We booted ours into the barn in the winter at just under 4 months with a heat lamp. They did just fine, and Michigan winters are no joke. If you've got an indoor coop area for the big birds, you should be able to close the little ones in a part of that with heat. If you're set on keeping them indoors, you'll need a fairly decent sized space for them, as they will be nearly adult sized by 8 months. A 10x10 box stall in the barn was seeming small for them by the end of winter for us.

Maybe you could order some chicken diapers for them and let them roam the house

 

[Frosty]

Quote:
I really am totally against heat lamps, I only use them for chicks starting out. The fire hazard just isn't worth it to me. I have also had bulbs shatter, then there is the hazard of broken glass (I think in that case a drop of condensation from the roof dripped down and went into a vent hole?) The adults that I have were about the size of a small leghorn chicken when I got them in October 2008, within days they went through a period of -30F. The coldest that I have ever seen here was around -38, but it didn't break any records so colder is always possible.

I just can't remember how big they are at 2 to 3 months old... I only had the one that I hatched last year, and he hatched July 5th. I am just trying to get an idea of space required 'just in case'. If the one laid today were to hatch, it wouldn't be due until Aug 20 and this is the third egg that she laid. Up here it's pretty cold in October, one year we had a really bad blizzard on Oct 5th (3 days before the blizzard temps were in the 90's). If I can keep them outside I will, but if they are still small I don't think I'll risk it. Maybe if I think positive, they'll hatch... last year I just had one hatch, at the time my pair was two years old and the male had no train at all so that was a surprise. I suppose another option would be to see if they start developing, then see if any chickens are broody and have her hatch and raise them. Than she could keep them warm?

 

[Frosty]

Quote:
Beautiful boy you have! At close to 4 months I wouldn't worry so much. That's probably about how old my pair was when I got them and they went through the winter with no heat. I actaully prefer our cold to yours, at least it's 'dry' cold and not that wet cold stuff. But it isn't unusual to go through stretches where the high for the day is below zero for 10 days at a time. Windchill won't be a factor, I make sure all of the critters can get out of the wind and small birds are just kept out of it.

Hmmm... chicken diapers... I wonder what DH would say? I would have to wait until they were a bit bigger so the cats wouldn't see them as a snack. They ignore the chickens, so maybe close to 'half grown chicken' sized?\\

You said 10x10 was seeming small... How many did you have?

 

[Kedreeva]

We had three, my two 3-4 month olds and one who was about 1-2 months older that I had just bought. I wouldn't worry too much about the cats unless you have some pretty big cats- we have 5 cats an an aussie shepherd mix and we had the peas out with us every day for every possible second. My peas were big enough at a month to have a talk with my DOG Laxie about how close they were willing to let her get. The sound of beak to forehead sounds just awesome, and Laxie still won't come within 10 feet of Blu even when ordered or bribed XD Here's Osiris at just 2-3 weeks already ready to tell her what's what:

At night, we locked them in a rabbit hutch for sleeping: Like this one. Actually that exact one...

I love our winters, but the wet can be a pain sometimes. The wet is much more bothersome in the summer though- 52 days of rain in 2 months this spring. FIFTY TWO