This is for newbies!

[DianaMallory]

I thought I would post these picks so you won't make the same mistakes I did in the past. The first pic is of my new babies when I first picked them up from the hatchery. Some of you are probably having yours shipped and will come in similar cartons. If you don't have a big enough brooder prepared you will find yourself like me building a new one. The second and third pics are of my 4 week old chicks that I picked up 4 weeks ago!



That is 4 weeks of growth! Love my girls but they do grow really fast! So I guess my point is build your brooder bigger from the start!

 

[DianaMallory]

Oh and these girls are headed to their new coop this afternoon and their brooder will be taken apart and saved for the next batch!

 

[RonC]

By the time your average breed is a month old figure 1.5 to 2 sq feet per bird. It looks huge when they are hatchlings. The amount they grow the second and third week is shocking. Good size comparison pics there.

 

[DianaMallory]

By the time your average breed is a month old figure 1.5 to 2 sq feet per bird. It looks huge when they are hatchlings. The amount they grow the second and third week is shocking. Good size comparison pics there.

That Square footage is just for the brooder! Coop square footage is more than that. Thanks RonC!

 

[RonC]

Correct, that is for the brooder only. Coop size depends on climate, daytime spent in the coop and how much run space is available in the daytime.

 

[DianaMallory]

I do 4 square feet per bird in the coop. My coop is 64 square feet so my 12, 4 week old girls that I just moved out to the new coop will have plenty of room. The reason I posted this post is because in the past I tried to brood chicks in to small of a brooder, Thank goodness my hubby is handy. He fixed me up with a larger brooder box. This time around I did it myself but I had it planned out before hand, and everything went well. I just hope they handle their first night in the coop ok!

 

[Daniela1909]

Our goreous baby chickens we hatched in 2013. We only have 2 of them now. 1 died unfortunately. the other 3 roosters had to be given away because we live suburbia. The other two, a white chook, Isa and a black chook, Zora still live with us. They are 1.

 

[DianaMallory]

Ah to cute but wrong thread! lol

 

[DianaMallory]

I am just bumping this post up hoping I am helping someone.