Starting over..again. We might be cursed.

[Kater_tot]

so, in feb we bought 10 chicks and two turkeys from a local feed store. No one warned us they couldn't brood together. It was still below freezing during the day, we set them up in the garage with heat lamps and several thermometers. Kept at 105* one day the turkeys died, the the chicks all started to go down hill and within 24hrs hubby culled based on vet advice.

We swore off chickens, but a friends HOA was forcing her to give up her flock of 2 year old hens. We took them and loved having them, they were amazing pets. A neighbors two dogs got out and killed all of them. My kids were especially devastated.

We have since fenced off our entire acreage, and our back yard as well and are considering chicks again. It's 90-100* during the day 50-60* at night. Can we skip the brooder? Would a heating pad in the coop be sufficient?

Most reliable hatcheries? I just can't do more dead chickens, it's heart breaking for all of us. I'm in northern Nevada, so west coast would be best.

To;dr can you skip brooder in warm temps, most reliable hatcheries?

 

[dfalco]

50-60° at night will be too cold for chicks.

 

[Kater_tot]

I was going to do the heating pad cave thing, everyone keeps saying heat lamps are dangerous. Maybe I'll just order 28 day old chicks

 

[WannabeFarmer5]

I was going to do the heating pad cave thing, everyone keeps saying heat lamps are dangerous. Maybe I'll just order 28 day old chicks

We have a heat lamp where if it falls it has a wire thing so nothing can get set on fire. We also use peat moss as bedding since I'm 90% sure it can't burn

 

[dfalco]

Whatever you decide, Im glad you've not given up. All the best!

 

[WannabeFarmer5]

@dfalco @Kater_tot Yes! You must not give up, good luck with your flock!

 

[Kater_tot]

Thank you!, we adore chickens so I'm hopeful but Leary

 

[jeria]

Good luck, I feel for you. I'm trying again also, my new little flock arrived on Tuesday. My first little flock @ 4 weeks were killed by my own dog, they were in a fenced raised bed and I was out of the backyard a little too long and she managed to slither in. I'm still working on my coop and run. I definitely won't assume again.

 

[azygous]

It's good you're trying again. Those kinds of setbacks can be emotionally crippling. I've found getting new baby chicks is the cure for a sore heart.

Could overheating have caused the death of those first chicks and poults? 105F is very hot. I'm glad you're considering the heating pad this time. No danger of overheating with one.

Chicks can be safely brooded outdoors in most climates. When you get down into the single digits, you might want to hold off until the temps climb back into the merely freezing zone. I and many others brood outdoors in our runs and coops and chicks do just fine in temps even into the teens with a heating pad cave system.

 

[lazy gardener]

What Azygous said. I'll add to her excellent advice: Heating pad brooding is by far the safest way to go, especially in the summer. Your biggest issue might be keeping them cool enough during the day. And you may only need the heating pad from late afternoon till mid morning. But, of course you will leave it set up all the time. Give your chicks plenty of room: at least 1 s.f. of OPEN space per chick during the first week or two. Then increase to 2 s.f./chick. By 3 weeks of age, they will use all the space you can give them, and they will be flitting all over the place like a bunch of parakeets. My chicks brood outside successfully in Maine, where temps are often below freezing at night.

Also, be sure your enclosure is predator proof: 1/2" hardware cloth. Chicken wire WILL NOT KEEP THEM SAFE. And they will need a buried skirt around the base of their enclosure to keep digging predators out.