The Buckeyes are here!

[Sparrow Farm]

Hi, all! Yesterday, I received 30 Buckeye chicks. I initially had them in my daughter’s old rabbit cage. Although they didn’t have any issues, I felt it was too small, so I talked (translated: begged) my husband into building an 8x4 brooder box, with 2’ high walls. I know it will give the chicks plenty of room through the next few weeks, but is it too big now? Should I add a second heat lamp for now, since the brooder is so big? The current heat lamp is about 18” from the bulb to the floor. The temp is registering as 98. I can’t seem to get it to 95. Do I have the thermometer (white square in the middle of the chicks in the first pic) too close to the lamp to get an accurate reading of the area? The last (and only) time I raised chicks, I only had six, so the much larger number has me worried if I am handling this correctly.

 

[TwoCrows]

Aww....adorable, Buckeyes are a wonderful breed! No don't add another heat lamp, that will heat up the corner too much. You want cool spots away from the heat because just as they cant keep themselves warm, they can't cool themselves off yet either. As they grow their internal thermostats will develop.

The thermometer should be placed directly under the heat on the floor and day olds should started around 88 to 90 degrees. You may want to add a 2x4 on the side and clamp the lamp up higher, then you will have room to raise it each week, lowering the temp by 5 degrees each week. Make SURE the lamp is firmly attached, don't just rely on the clamp, you might add a clamp to the clamp if you will, so the lamp can't fall. Pretty soon you will need to cover the top with wire of some sort, chicken wire works well, they will start to fly out during their 2nd week.

Enjoy your new babies!

 

[Sparrow Farm]

Aww....adorable, Buckeyes are a wonderful breed! No don't add another heat lamp, that will heat up the corner too much. You want cool spots away from the heat because just as they cant keep themselves warm, they can't cool themselves off yet either. As they grow their internal thermostats will develop.

The thermometer should be placed directly under the heat on the floor and day olds should started around 88 to 90 degrees. You may want to add a 2x4 on the side and clamp the lamp up higher, then you will have room to raise it each week, lowering the temp by 5 degrees each week. Make SURE the lamp is firmly attached, don't just rely on the clamp, you might add a clamp to the clamp if you will, so the lamp can't fall. Pretty soon you will need to cover the top with wire of some sort, chicken wire works well, they will start to fly out during their 2nd week.

Enjoy your new babies!

Thank you! I did not realize they would fly out that quickly. I will have to pick up some chicken wire this weekend! Thanks again!

 

[BastyPutt]

The brooder can never be big enough! Put your light on one side, the food in the middle and they will regulate their own heat as needed. Here is what we have used for a long time, a 170 gallon stock tank. It is excellent and can easily be pressure washed out when finished.

For the top, I got a 16' panel of hog fencing and zip tied hardware cloth to the top after cutting it to fit on the stock tank. It is sturdy, very light weight and holds the heat lamp at the perfect height.

Right now I have 25 cortunix quail in there. Our first attempt at quail and boy are they a trip!

 

[Sparrow Farm]

The brooder can never be big enough! Put your light on one side, the food in the middle and they will regulate their own heat as needed. Here is what we have used for a long time, a 170 gallon stock tank. It is excellent and can easily be pressure washed out when finished.

For the top, I got a 16' panel of hog fencing and zip tied hardware cloth to the top after cutting it to fit on the stock tank. It is sturdy, very light weight and holds the heat lamp at the perfect height.

Right now I have 25 cortunix quail in there. Our first attempt at quail and boy are they a trip!

That’s a nice set up. Do you keep it in your coop? We are in the process of converting an 18x20 carport to a coop. The box my husband built will be modified to have a screen front with two doors that open for cleaning. I plan to attach plywood to the top and build a trim around the top edges to add sand for a poop board (we will have to reinforce the box a bit), because I plan to have the roost bars above the brooder box. The problem I am running into at this point is that I was originally planning for the roost bars to nearly span the width of the coop, which should be around 18’ once the walls are built, but that seems like an unnecessarily large brooder. I have read that Buckeyes go broody, so I thought about dividing it into two brooders, but maybe I should leave that space open so the flock has more floor space. I plan to use half of the structure for storage (at least for now), so we are building a wall in the middle of the structure (the chicken coop part will be 18’ x 10’). On the coop side of that wall, we will add six nest boxes, which can be accessed from the storage side for egg collection; pvc pipes for food, which I am hoping to fill from the storage side and some kind of watering system (haven’t decided what type yet). There will be a door to allow access to the coop for cleaning, and I also plan to cap the pvc food pipes at night, to try to deter rodents as much as possible. In the storage side, I will have the chicken’s supplies, gardening tools, and beekeepers tools. I plan to have a run/garden on each side of the coop, with only one side being accessible to the chickens each year. The side that is not accessible to the chickens will be used as a garden for that year. On the back sides of the coop, I plan to have a fenced in area for beehives (although, that may change once we go to beekeepers school). I want the chickens to free range within the section of our farm that surrounds the house, garden area and barn (+/- 1 acre), but will have to see how that goes. In the city, we never lost a chicken to a predator. We did live next to a farm field where coyotes lived, but they never entered the yard. We also have two dogs that kill anything that enters the yard (raccoons, opossums, rats, snakes). However, we are in the country now and there are a lot more of those things around, and the snakes are much larger than I ever saw in the city! If we start losing chickens from free ranging, or the chickens won’t stay out of the side being used as a garden that year, I will have to go to plan B, which is to enclose the gardens/runs (each will be 20x30). I got my inspiration for the garden/run from the attached article (slightly modified to suit our needs).

Sorry. I know this is a long post, but would love your input about my plans. Thanks!

https://www.backwoodshome.com/save-time-and-energy-with-the-fenced-chicken-coopgarden/

 

[BastyPutt]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Here are a few things I spotted.

That’s a nice set up. Do you keep it in your coop?

I don't. Our coop is quite a ways off, so walking to it as much as I'd need to with a brooder would be a task. I built an 8x4 little house that the brooder sits in, then as they grow I'll remove the brooder and they stay in the house. We then have a transitional area with yet another small coop where they can see the flock through 4x2 fencing. Then they move to the flock.

A screen front with two doors that open for cleaning

I would advise against the screen on the sides. A chick group can survive a spat of cold weather if say your light goes out, by huddling together. What will kill them quickly is a draft. Any brooder outside would be best to have solid sides.

we will add six nest boxes,

If you have 30 sexed pullets there, you'll want to consider a few more boxes. There would be a lot of pushing and shoving getting to 6 boxes with 30 hens. Straight run and you should be good.

beekeepers tools.

Sounds like we are kindred spirits. We have a few hives here and absolutley love them. The chickens also play nice as well.

The side that is not accessible to the chickens will be used as a garden for that year.

Regenerative gardening, very nice.

However, we are in the country now and there are a lot more of those things around

Yes - above all this should be your main consideration. Something like a carport always feels secure, but just make sure you account for every scenario. Also consider adding cameras. A predator is not likely to be successful getting into the coop on their first try. This way you'll be able to see what they are trying.

Fox, raptors and coyote will pick free ranging chickens off during the day, everything else wont bother until the night.

pvc pipes for food

Linked below are going to be a great option for feeding if you are concerned with rodents. These ports are absolutely awesome. I used PVC contraptions for a long time and finally settled on 5 gallon buckets and these ports.

YANZI No Waste Chicken Feeder with Rat Stopper Caps,6 Ports and Hole Saw,DIY Poultry Feeder Port Gravity Automatic Fed Kit for Buckets,Barrels,Bins,Troughs https://a.co/d/4JCQWH9

 

[Sparrow Farm]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Here are a few things I spotted.


I don't. Our coop is quite a ways off, so walking to it as much as I'd need to with a brooder would be a task. I built an 8x4 little house that the brooder sits in, then as they grow I'll remove the brooder and they stay in the house. We then have a transitional area with yet another small coop where they can see the flock through 4x2 fencing. Then they move to the flock.

I would advise against the screen on the sides. A chick group can survive a spat of cold weather if say your light goes out, by huddling together. What will kill them quickly is a draft. Any brooder outside would be best to have solid sides.

If you have 30 sexed pullets there, you'll want to consider a few more boxes. There would be a lot of pushing and shoving getting to 6 boxes with 30 hens. Straight run and you should be good.

Sounds like we are kindred spirits. We have a few hives here and absolutley love them. The chickens also play nice as well.

Regenerative gardening, very nice.

Yes - above all this should be your main consideration. Something like a carport always feels secure, but just make sure you account for every scenario. Also consider adding cameras. A predator is not likely to be successful getting into the coop on their first try. This way you'll be able to see what they are trying.

Fox, raptors and coyote will pick free ranging chickens off during the day, everything else wont bother until the night.

Linked below are going to be a great option for feeding if you are concerned with rodents. These ports are absolutely awesome. I used PVC contraptions for a long time and finally settled on 5 gallon buckets and these ports.

YANZI No Waste Chicken Feeder with Rat Stopper Caps,6 Ports and Hole Saw,DIY Poultry Feeder Port Gravity Automatic Fed Kit for Buckets,Barrels,Bins,Troughs https://a.co/d/4JCQWH9

The way you raise and transition chicks sounds amazing! I may have to steal your ideas if my plans don’t work out.

As for the brooder, I only plan to use it with broody hens who would raise the chicks. Should I still keep the brooder sides enclosed?

I actually ordered straight run because we plan to use the Buckeyes as a dual purpose breed. Currently, I plan to keep a dozen hens and one rooster. Though, I am already thinking that I may keep all of the hens from this batch, assuming there are more than 12. I’ve heard that straight run batches tend to have more roosters than hens. Not sure if that is true.

I am glad to hear that your chickens and bees coexist well. We have wanted bees for years, but never took the plunge on getting them while we were in the city. Being in the country, I guess we feel obligated to do our part to try to help the bee population. The honey will just be a nice bonus!

I was planning to add motion sensor lights, but hadn’t considered cameras. We have been looking into game cameras just to keep an eye on what or who (jaded city folk) may be lurking around our property, so I could maybe add a couple of those around the coop.

Our chickens will free range within fenced in yard. I know there is a risk of predators coming over the fence, but I am hoping the availability of prey outside the fence will be enough to deter coyotes and fox during the day. If that doesn’t work, hopefully, our dog will ward them off. If I have issues with them, or raptors, which honestly concern me more, I will move to keeping them in the runs and only letting them out when someone is outside with them. I have read that raptors tend to avoid yards where large dogs are present, (which seemed to hold true at our old house…plenty of hawks, but no chicken attacks) so we will probably keep our younger dog out with the chickens when they are out. He has been around chickens before. Plus, he loves being outside, and will chase anything that gets in the yard, including birds.

For the carport to coop conversion, we have built a frame floor. The sides will be closed in with plywood siding (I think it’s called T11?) and 1/4 hardware cloth where windows and ventilation will be. I am not totally sure about the exterior door yet. I would love to use a door that has a deadbolt, but haven’t discussed that with my husband yet, so don’t know if it’s possible.

I will definitely look at the chicken feeders you linked. Thanks!