Two questions from newbie:)

[mlove]

I have 5 week old silkie chicks. I moved them outside 2 weeks ago. At what age do they put themselves to sleep at night in the brooder section of their coop? The nights have been around 60 degrees and they nest on the ground so I have been moving them each night. Should I continue to move them or leave them on the ground? I have watched them go up and down their ladder and I have shavings, a heat lamp and several nesting areas in the brooder.

Also, based on the size of my coop how many bantam silkies and polish do you suggest keeping in the coop? I currently have 24 chicks but was hoping to keep between 8-10 if they can live comfortably in a coop this size.

 

[Carenm]

I've been wondering the same thing. We keep moving ours too into their coop.

 

[yotetrapper]

Keep putting them in if you can. I have this issue every year, and last year I had so many that after a few nights I said heck with it, let em sleep out if they want. And sleep out they did, for months. When it got cold, they finally learned to go in on their own. The year before, I kept putting them in every night and after a week or two, they'd do it on their own.

 

[Want Less]

I like your chicken tractor!!

 

[chickensgalore]

5 nights of doing the same thing,lastnight 4 went up in the coop to sleep.9 more to teach

 

[kcsunshine]

Don't know which is cuter - the tractor or the kid

Seriously, that' one fine tractor.

 

[mlove]

Thanks! This was our first attempt at making a coop and I'm happy but I wish it was bigger. I originally wanted to keep 4-6 chickens but now I find the number I want to keep continues to increase. My 7 year old loves the chicks and sits inside the coop and watches them for hours.

 

[Dora'smom]

I can't really tell the dimensions of your coop, but the old stand-by for minimum amount of space per bird (in a coop) is 4 square feet. If you have bantams, the minimum is two square feet per bird. For an outside run, the recommended minimum is 10 square feet per bird for standards. If your birds are going to be spending any amount of time in the coop, other than at night, you will want to consider this carefully. If birds do not have enough space, they tend to pick at each other. You really don't want to get that started.

 

[mlove]

Sorry, I should have put the dimensions. The run is 9 ft long and 5 ft wide. The brooder is 34 inches across not including the nesting box area that stick out an extra 8 1/2 inches and 5 ft wide. The chickens will be locked in the brooder area at night and let out in the morning. The chickens will also have free time outside in our yard but it will only be 1-2 hours a day.

 

[mlove]

I currently have 5 polish and 19 silkies. I'm not sure if I want all pullets or if I will be keeping one rooster. I'd love to have baby chicks one day but I'm not sure about the noise factor. We live in the country but it's in a residential neighborhood.