What are your older chicks living in?

[chicken_china_mom]

We keep our babies in a rabbit cage. If that helps. Ours don't fly out.

 

[MagsC]

Its not hard to find a larger stock tank on craigslist and put a screen top over it? Of course unless you had some shelter inside the brooder, you would want to keep it in the house, garage, barn or wherever.

 

[nlove_3000]

I posted this in another thread, but I think it applies here too

My husband built a "mini coop" in the garage for the guys who are close to grown but really not there yet.

These guys below are all 4-6 weeks old. I know they look crowded but I assure you it's only because they all came running to the front because they thought I had treats

There are roosts, food and water in this "outside" part. The floor is open to the ground for when we take it outside, but right now it's on a tarp in the garage with pine shavings over it.

This is the "coop" portion with a roost and an additional feeder in case anyone is getting bullied and doesn't get a chance at the other feeder outside. The floor of the coop is ply with tarp stapled to it. When we move it outside we shoo all the girls into the coop and carry it out for the day. They come running when we open the door. At night we bring it back in and set it over the shavings.

The whole thing is probaby 4-5'x3'. The heat lamp doesn't really get used much anymore. I flip it on at night and the 4 weekers sleep under it while the older ones pick a roost in the house or elsewhere. We threw it together out of scraps.

I go out at least once a day and flip the the pen top up and lean it against the open coop top and they all play in the garage for a while. They stretch and fly and peck the floor and I usually hide some treats here and there for them to find while they're out.

 

[xyresicchick]

i plan on getting a 10$ kiddie pool and wrapping hardware cloth (1/2" holed screen mesh) around it. making a round cover out of the same stuff and ji ust placing the brooder lamp on top of that. put a perch in there

 

[chkinut]

Mrs.H :

Olive Hill, you do have point b/c back in the day im sure people didnt go all out like they do nowadays with chickens. Im sure back in the day chicks were with older chickens from day one and fine. Ive actually raised these chicks from day one without a heat lamp or light bulb (paranoid about fires) and they are doing great, getting huge everyday. We live in NC so the weather wasnt too cold at night, some nights it did get down to 30s-40s but it wanst that cold in our unheated mudroom and daytime weather it was like 60s-70s by early morning. Im trying to be laid back as much as possible with chickens also, but sometimes it just hard, lol. I think its b/c its my 1st batch of chicks so im being more over protective/over thinking things then I really need to be

hi! i live in NC too! eastern NC....about 15 minutes away from Atlantic beach. it was really helpful to read what u wrote. i'd be happy if my girls could easily move outside to their coop at 4 weeks of age. that would be awesome. after reading your post, i'm thinking of "hardening them off" (like u do to indoor plants before you plant them outside)....by turning off the heat lamp about a week before they move outside just to see how they handle it. very interesting thread.
loved the mini-coop nlove!​