Too big for brooder?

[ladeefire]

Hi y'all,

I have our chickens (14) in a long skinny rubbermaid bin that my husband built a cover for and it has litter and a lamp. They were very comfortable in the brooder. Now they are almost 3 weeks old and space is becoming an issue. I see there is some arguing among the boys and always a chuckus (ruckus + chicken) when there is food involved.
I see they need like 6 inches of space according to the "book" i have. But I would rather hear from you guys... Our coop isnt ready yet, it should be ready in about 2 weeks (yay) 4 hends and 1 Roo are going to live with a friend (we shared the order but I kept them in my brooder for her).
The NHR's are getting feathers pretty fast and the temp is 30-40's outside... I am concerned about space for them for the next 2 weeks... HOW does ANYONE keep chickens in their house for 6 weeks???

Any ideas?

 

[RIVERA69R]

From 3wks to 5wks is a big difference I have my 5wk olds in a reptile tank its 6ft x 2ft pretty big and it is getting cramped I put my chicks out in the run every day after work and I only have 8 getting rid of 2 more this weekend and the rest will be outside this weekend in their coop for good yeah! but the more room the better 6in per chick is being unrealistic they are kids that want to run and play try to get a big box from a appliance store or even two of them and put together to give them more room.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I have had several chickens in the house over winter, it got to be quite a mess. I ended up building more enclosures to add more space as they got older. I suggest getting some salvaged plywood and some 2 by 2's and building something temporary with more room for them to grow or you are gonna have a holy mess on your hands as they will pick on each other until bloody. Do you have space in a garage to build something quick? It doesn't take much. I built a nice brooder in the house with brand new material, linolium floor and half way up the walls for easy clean up. The box is 3 ft deep by 5 ft wide, has 2 perches and 4 nests off the ground to give them more floor space, it costed less then $100 to build over the course of 2 days. I have since added a lower level but here is a pic of the original enclosure i started with for my seramas

 

[ladeefire]

Its probably about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long.

 

[RIVERA69R]

Another option is have a other person take their 6 now let them get a little chicken crazy

its their babies lol!

 

[laurenlulu]

ugh. I had 4 bigger chicks and some babies- I was running out of room (and patience) with my 4 4 week olds! I put them out in the coop in a wire cage with the heatlamp, so the hens cant pick on them, but they aren't making a huge mess and trampling the babies. I cant imagine 15 of them in a 2x4!!

 

[bethandjoeync]

our little ones are 2 weeks old, and probably a week or two they will be in a wire dog kennel (you know, the kind with the tray on the bottom) anyways, and we will line it with heavy plastic up to as tall as the chickies are, so I don't have shavings all over my house. they will probably stay in this until they are too big for it. it has lots of room, and taller so I can put a more suitable perch/roost, for them. right now they are in a rubbermade tub that is pretty big, but for 16 little chickies that want to run and practice flying, it's getting small. then once they get enough feathers to keep them relatively warm we will put them in the coop, but in an enclosed section so they can socialize with the older girls, but won't get picked on because they are small. I'll still probably put a lamp out there for them, to give them some extra warmth, but it's starting to get slightly warmer at night here, so we will see.

then once we get them in the coop, we will have this big empty brooder that is lonely .....lol so maybe we will get more chickies and start all over! lmao

 

[ladeefire]

We dont have any chicks in the coop, this is my first 'batch' but hte coop is not ready yet!
EEEK!

 

[ChcknLady]

what type of plastic are you using for the sides? like plastic sheeting or solid plastic pieces? that's a great idea and I may try it to enable getting some more chicks

on a rotating basis!

 

[kritterkeep]

I was thinking the same thing

- is there enough room for them- I only have 5 and they are 8 and 9 days old. but this morning they seemed so restless- I thought maybe the temp but that was at 89.. they were all just noise and running around and knocking into each other- is the is normal-

they are also in a clear tote about 4 ft long 18in wide

I was thinking about going to sears and getting a bigger box and putting some left over floor we have in the bottom-

any idea's

Donna B