They just had to go!

[CoyoteMagic]

You think chicks are bad?! Try quail chicks!! EEEEEEEEEEGADS!!! I had to repaint the bathroom!! Never again! Now they go in the shed with a nice heat lamp!

 

[rancher hicks]

My first 25 were in the office. First in one bin, then two bins, then three, then four, then into the back room in one pen, then two pens ,then to the coop. What a mess. Dust every where. Now I brood in the back room it's still dusty but I'm learning. The thing is all that peeping is like a signal to preds, saying "we're here, we're here".
I got a wounded chick in the brooder by itself. Not sure if it was another chicken or something else. Tore the fur off it's little wing. I had it in the house soaking its' wing cuz it was drying and sticking to it's side. I've had other hens brood with the flock and their chicks were all ok. Not sure what to do with the little thing. It seems healthy enough to survive, I just don't want to have to baby it.

My point, whatever you do for brooding make it a safe place , pred proof plus.

 

[gritsar]

Don't brood chicks in the house. Never will. They're my pets, but they are also livestock and livestock lives outside.

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
I am beginning to agree with you. I had mine inside due to our extreme heat in late Aug, early Sept.. Next time I order chicks it will be either in late Sept. or early October. It would be so easy to just add a heat lamp in the outdoor coop than to have that mess inside. Especially with the meat birds! Never again in the house!

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
Well, the little " beauties" have been out in the outside coop for three days now and seem to absolutely love it. I keep them in the 6' x 12' run all day with food and water then put them inside during the night with a light. They are running, flapping their wings and just plain having fun. It seems as though they have doubled in size in three days. I know that can't be true but having them out of the house seems to have matured them. I'm never going to brood in the house again either. I will be sure and get the chicks at a time when the outside temps will co-operate with the raising of fuzzy butts. I guess it's only natural to be a little over protective with your "first chickies"!

I want to put my 2 week olds in the inbetween coop. BUT I am worried about the cold. How cold are you nights?

So far our nights are only in the low to mid 70's. I just put a heat lamp in a corner of the coop and let them at it. By morning they are scattered all over the coop so I'm sure they aren't too cold.

 

[PunkinPeep]

My handy hubby built me an outdoor brooder on stilts, out of a big wooden shipping crate. I love it!

I still keep my dp chicks in the house for a few days sometimes, but as soon as i'm tired of them, out they go!

 

[BWKatz]

I think the key to all of this is numbers. When they are pets and the amount of poo is significantly less in addition to less dust. All of which makes it more tolerable.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I had mine in the bathtub then the rest of the bathroom until they were 8 weeks old... NEVER AGAIN. That was the worse biggest mess EVER! I am still cleaning chicken dust off stuff!!! Now I just have to figure out what to do for the next round...

 

[crj]

We hatched this last 12 in a spare bedroom and pulled them from the incubator and moved them as they hatched into a small nursury brooder on the floor (big plastic tub with a small light). Then after the hatch we moved them outside to the "Big Pink Brooder". This a wooden crate about 3x4x2 feet deep with 2 larger lamps if needed. we keep it outside the backdoor on the deck so we can keep an eye on them. The started to feather out that first week. We have 1 underdeveloped FBCM but the rest are doing super. Get them out and on the ground ASAP for healthier birds.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Order your next chicks at the best time for your location weather-wise and then brood them outside. With a heat lamp for the first few weeks and a draft free, predator proof coop, there's no reason why chicks can't be in the coop from day one.
I've ordered chicks in April, brooded outside with a heat lamp and no problems whatsoever. This latest batch I had to wait to order until June, due to family illness. The biggest problem I had, from two weeks on, was keeping them cool enough.
To get the best selection from the hatcheries, you can still order in January or February and designate a later delivery date.