Topic of the Week - Moving Chicks Outside

[Kirk-a-doodle-doo]

As a newbie to chickens, this is all helpful info. Thanks for sharing, everyone.

My chicks are a little over a week old and before reading this thread, I was nervous about moving them from the house to the barn. Not anymore. They're going in the barn tonight.

Is it possible for the brooder box to be too big? Would that cause any problems? I recently moved and have a bunch of boxes and am planning on moving my seven chicks to a wardrobe box which is something like 2'x4'.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

As a newbie to chickens, this is all helpful info. Thanks for sharing, everyone.

My chicks are a little over a week old and before reading this thread, I was nervous about moving them from the house to the barn. Not anymore. They're going in the barn tonight.

Is it possible for the brooder box to be too big? Would that cause any problems? I recently moved and have a bunch of boxes and am planning on moving my seven chicks to a wardrobe box which is something like 2'x4'.

It’s probably possible, but I don’t think that’s too much. You’ll appreciate it as they grow and so will they. My permanent box is 2’ by 7’ and hatch before last held nine chicks. If you have a heat plate or MHP, you may want to consider a hover box to give the chicks a place to congregate near their heat source that will help retain some of that heat.

 

[Kirk-a-doodle-doo]

Thanks @Harmony Fowl I do have a heat plate so I think they'll be fine.

 

[cholland]

This is my second year brooding outside with MHP. I give them a day or two inside. Then it's out to the brooder coop. I often have temps in the low 30s. I haven't tried right in the main run/coop yet.
I keep them in a 4x6 area for the first few weeks so they don't get 'lost' wandering about. At 4 weeks they are venturing to the true outside. They explore and figure out their surroundings really quick.

 

[Sparrowsong98]

I brood inside, and wean off the heat lamp by 4 weeks. At 6 weeks, I put them in a rabbit cage right in the center of my coop for smaller groups, and for larger groups I have a 7x7 run with a lean-to in it that t I put them in. I give everybody a few days to get used to seeing each other, then I move them over. For the larger groups, my flock is usually more scared of the sheer number of strangers, so I watch them together for a few days, then start leaving them for a bit for a few days, then if all goes well, I let them loose and check a few times a day to make sure that no one is dying (no one ever has). For smaller groups, I do supervised play-dates and if everything goes well, I leave them alone for a little bit for a few times before leaving the food door in the rabbit cage open. This is large enough for most pullets to get through but never hens. That way they can escape if they need to, and I leave food and water inside in case they are trapped for a while. I leave the cage in until the pullets start to roost on the roost with the other hens instead of going to bed in the rabbit cage. That way I feel like I am not rushing them, and once they begin to roost with them I feel like they are introduced the whole way.

 

[GranolaGirl72]

Our 4 new chicks were inside the laundry room for the first 3 weeks of April due to crazy snowstorms and cold here in Wisconsin. I use the mama heating pad method periodically leaving the door between the garage and the room open so they could have some cooler temps. Last week I picked up the entire box and transferred it to the outdoor coop. I sectioned off half of the coup with poultry netting so the littles could not get in with the bigs and the bigs could still go inside to lay and roost, heating pad is still plugged in and set to high. Will drop it to medium in another half week ( we have one more near freezing night coming) and have gone out the last 2 days to kick the bigs out of the run and let the littles explore that space as well.

 

[DanesBees&Chicks]

I use my Great Dane crate laid out flat with wire mesh over the top for a brooder. This is set up in our basement. At 5 weeks the kids were moved to the shed with just a regular bulb for light. It was just so cold here I was nervous to put then into the coop. At 7 weeks they moved to the big girls run, but were kept separate in their own little 4 x 8 wire enclosure. I put them in the coop at night to sleep with the big girls but keep them separate during the day. One week after that the door is left open on their little enclosure and they can venture out if they want to. The big girls like to herd them back in, esp the wyandotte! She can't stand if the kids come out of their space. Thinks she is a cattle dog or something.... I will eject the kids from the enclosure soon and they can run and hide in other places until Miss Bossy gets over her "little chickens need to stay in one place" issue.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

I am so happy to see this thread today. My chicks (I have 6) are 3 weeks old tomorrow (may 3rd). One started feathering out very early, the rest are finally catching up. Some still have quite a bit of downy fuzz still but it is getting less and less as the days go by. I live in TN and the temps are getting warm (finally!). This past weekend my husband and I got their coop put together. It was just a kit and I've already been talking to my husband about how we can build a bigger and better coop next time and use this kit as a transition or possibly a brooder coop in the future. He's been fencing off a nice area for them to forage around once they get big enough to free range (well, in a limited capacity). That will be done in time before they need it. The time for them to go in to their little coop is drawing near. Maybe it's because I'm just a newbie to having/raising chickens. But I'm gonna miss them being in the house. Being in the other room. Hearing their soft peep, peep, peeps. Being able to walk across the room and say hi to them and chat with them. Fussing over them. It seems like everyone else is like, "woohoo! they are out!"... and I'm over here like, "I don't want them to leave!" LOL!

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I am so happy to see this thread today. My chicks (I have 6) are 3 weeks old tomorrow (may 3rd). One started feathering out very early, the rest are finally catching up. Some still have quite a bit of downy fuzz still but it is getting less and less as the days go by. I live in TN and the temps are getting warm (finally!). This past weekend my husband and I got their coop put together. It was just a kit and I've already been talking to my husband about how we can build a bigger and better coop next time and use this kit as a transition or possibly a brooder coop in the future. He's been fencing off a nice area for them to forage around once they get big enough to free range (well, in a limited capacity). That will be done in time before they need it. The time for them to go in to their little coop is drawing near. Maybe it's because I'm just a newbie to having/raising chickens. But I'm gonna miss them being in the house. Being in the other room. Hearing their soft peep, peep, peeps. Being able to walk across the room and say hi to them and chat with them. Fussing over them. It seems like everyone else is like, "woohoo! they are out!"... and I'm over here like, "I don't want them to leave!" LOL!

lol I just think they are so loud! I raise more at a time, though, at least a dozen. That contributes to noise and smell both after awhile. Last week I got two newly hatched turkey poults. I have two chicks inside with them, too, and what I immediately noticed was how much quieter the turkeys are, sweet little whistling peeps, no loud screaming every time something they don’t like happens. I could go for brooding more turkeys inside!

 

[BrindleFinch]

Ah, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question; how long can chicks go without food/water?

I'm nervous about shutting the chicks up in the coop at night, because I'm afraid that I'll be depriving them of nutrients they need if they don't have 24/7 access to food and water. At what age is it acceptable for, say, 9 hours to pass between waterings/feedings?