Texas

[MandyJ]

We use a fine wire mesh that the poop falls through. We use sand on the just hatched chick but once they are 2 weeks they get moved to the wire mesh. Less clean up time with the wire mesh but we have found that the baby chick like the sand to get grit. We have found that they go for the grit before they even look at the food.
BTW Welcome from Aubrey, TX (north of DFW)

Isn't the wire hard on their feet?

 

[buggal]

Isn't the wire hard on their feet?

Not that we have found. Remember that they are in a brooder that has sand in the bottom of it for the first 2 weeks. Toward the end of the time in the sand brooder they start to have build up on their toes of sand mixed with poop and or food. The fine mesh is good because it helps remove the build up on the toes and the mesh is fine enough that they do not have any problem standing on it. It is the same mesh that is found in the bottom of the incubators. And they are on that mesh right out of the shell.

 

[buggal]

Question for all of you out there that hatch and raise chickens.... When do you start introducing them to the "world" let them out of the brooder? Esp. now that we are getting cooler and there is no mama chicken around to keep them warm? We have several silkie chicks that is about 5 weeks old maybe a little more that we have in a large brooder with a heat lamp in the barn. Saturday morning we found a silkie dead in the brooder. It was cold and stiff. A few hours passed and we found another silkie that could barely stand and was almost dead. We took her inside the house got some warm towel and got her warm. She is now doing well in a cardboard box that has the incubator heater on top of it. Happy as can be. She got too cold. When do young chickens need to get exposed to the environment? This happened the night that it got down to 31 degrees outside and she was (like I said) in the brooder in the barn with a heat lamp. Since then we have added another heat lamp to the brooder just to make sure this doesn't happen again. I hate loosing my babies and am scared to let them experience the outdoors. We had 2 bouts of coccidia over the last 3 months.

 

[kajira]

Question for all of you out there that hatch and raise chickens.... When do you start introducing them to the "world" let them out of the brooder? Esp. now that we are getting cooler and there is no mama chicken around to keep them warm? We have several silkie chicks that is about 5 weeks old maybe a little more that we have in a large brooder with a heat lamp in the barn. Saturday morning we found a silkie dead in the brooder. It was cold and stiff. A few hours passed and we found another silkie that could barely stand and was almost dead. We took her inside the house got some warm towel and got her warm. She is now doing well in a cardboard box that has the incubator heater on top of it. Happy as can be. She got too cold. When do young chickens need to get exposed to the environment? This happened the night that it got down to 31 degrees outside and she was (like I said) in the brooder in the barn with a heat lamp. Since then we have added another heat lamp to the brooder just to make sure this doesn't happen again. I hate loosing my babies and am scared to let them experience the outdoors. We had 2 bouts of coccidia over the last 3 months.

4-6 weeks is when I move them outside.

I handle them daily inside, so they'll be tame when they move outside. But i've never moved just one. I always move a group so they can huddle together for warmth.

Edit : I notice specifically that you said silkies. My silkies are still inside in the brooders. But, I literally just hatched one last week, so until he's 6+ weeks, he won't be going outside. Which would make my oldest silkie about 4months by the time he actually makes it outside with the group.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings from a "new" Texan. Titus County, Mount Pleasant area here. Closed on my place here in early October and slowly getting settled in. No animals yet aside from the LGD. Have to update fencing and build structures, including a new coop. Previously in Colorado on the front range I had several breeds and kept them separated. Left them all behind with the new owner up there to start fresh down here.

Of the breeds I had I am only for sure replacing one and that was my New Hampshires. I think this time around I'm going to get a whole mix of lawn ornament colors and just let them all do as they will. The coop this time around will NOT be anywhere near as extravagant as the ones I built in CO. Going to dupe post this on the East Texas thread since that's where I'm geographically located. Glad to be down here with y'all.

 

[TexasLisa]

Greetings from a "new" Texan. Titus County, Mount Pleasant area here. Closed on my place here in early October and slowly getting settled in. No animals yet aside from the LGD. Have to update fencing and build structures, including a new coop. Previously in Colorado on the front range I had several breeds and kept them separated. Left them all behind with the new owner up there to start fresh down here.

Of the breeds I had I am only for sure replacing one and that was my New Hampshires. I think this time around I'm going to get a whole mix of lawn ornament colors and just let them all do as they will. The coop this time around will NOT be anywhere near as extravagant as the ones I built in CO. Going to dupe post this on the East Texas thread since that's where I'm geographically located. Glad to be down here with y'all.

Welcome from Rosenberg. Good luck with your new place!

 

[SmartChicken123]

Howdy! I'm in the bryan/colleg station area! I have 5 production red chicks.

 

[TexasLisa]

Howdy! I'm in the bryan/colleg station area! I have 5 production red chicks.

Howdy from Rosenberg! Do you have pictures of your little ones? (We LOVE pictures)

 

[SmartChicken123]

This is when I first put them in, my friend is holding one of them.

 

[coyotesmommy]

Hi!!! Anyone from Harvest homes in Northlake Tx. I heard we had some underground chicken lovers.