Too many brooder options

[nuthatched]

Here's my flock, 3 day olds in the brooder while a 5 week old and a 3 year old investigate. Don't worry.

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

For your ventilation, you could take off top and cover with hardware cloth and do a wind block on one side of run. I've even seen some use filter material/batting overlay on vents to block wind but keep ventilation.

 

[WilderSkye]

Those chicks are sooo cute!

I so appreciate the input everyone kindly gave.

We have our tracking number now, they ship tomorrow. The email from Alchemist says they ship with a 96 hour heat pack and I think I had read on her site some sort of food. I don't think they should be in transit more than two days from northern Cali to eastern NM. I feel such and peace and confidence now. I had a moment of panic that we would someway end up killing them from not enough heat, too much heat, not enough room, too much room; totally overthinking it.

Also, and this is sort of funny, but waaay back when we got some chicks at the local feedstore, they always showed up on a certain day, and everyone was lined up to get their chicks as soon as they arrived, otherwise you didn't get chicks (we lived in a super remote area - 200 miles from 'real shopping' so chicks sold fast.). Really this is no different, they just won't have to wait at the feed store a few hours before being disturbed again.

One of the most exciting things is that I don't really have much of a good idea what the Alchemist Blues will look like other than the photo of the two hens and the chicks. Some of them may have a tuft and I am really hoping we get a tufted hen. They are a total box of chocolates. I really loved their description and know they are going to be fabulous little ladies.

Happy days!!!!

 

[WilderSkye]

For your ventilation, you could take off top and cover with hardware cloth and do a wind block on one side of run. I've even seen some use filter material/batting overlay on vents to block wind but keep ventilation.

Sorry, I missed seeing this post. I like that idea and we have kicked it around. This was actually one of the things I was hoping someone would give me input on. The walls of the run were put to block wind so the north side has two panels, south has one, and back is west. The roof is totally covered. It is 24" from top of henhouse without roof to the ceiling of the run. I have thought all along we should just run wire to the top. The solar vent fan is working like a charm. And yesterday it got to a sultry 90 deg here with no wind (not normal for us) and it was cool in the henhouse and run felt great with all the shade.

My question would be: in the winter should the roof be put back on henhouse?

 

[Ridgerunner]

My question would be: in the winter should the roof be put back on henhouse?

How cold does your winter get? I'm not asking for normal, what is the extreme that it could possibly get?

Your run is covered and wind is totally blocked on one side. Rain and snow might blow in from the sides through an open roof but probably not enough to cause harm. I don't know what kind of snows you get there.

The wind will be blocked on all sides by your henhouse, let alone the run walls. I'm only concerned about night because they can move during daylight to get out of a wind. If the only opening at night is an open roof then any breeze strong enough to ruffle their feathers will be well above their heads. That is not a problem. If you have openings at night lower down where you can get a breeze on the roosts I'd close that opening at night when it is going to be cold.

I've seen chickens sleep in trees when the overnight low was -10 Fahrenheit. The trees were in a sheltered area where wind was not an issue. If it gets much colder than that I might have concerns but the issue is much more with a breeze hitting them, not just cold.

You want good ventilation in winter. The danger is frostbite. If the air is humid then they can get frostbite even if it is just a little below freezing. That moisture can come from their breathing, their poop, any open water dishes, or just wet spots. You need good ventilation to get that moisture out. An open roof gives great ventilation.