When to get Baby Chicks - Lessons Learned

[newchknmama]

boy isnt this the truth! My coop is in the backyard taken apart in panels needing to be assembled and I have 5 -6 weeks olds and 2 -3 weeks olds in the garage in a brooder and its getting gross! I cant change their stuff every day either and after a couple days its unbearable.. its ridiculous.. I want them out of my garage.. ugh.. they poop so much.
And the dust.. boy thats a whole different story

 

[suzyQlou]

I think it's the size of the chicks (more than the smell) that makes this good advice. There comes a time when that little brooder just isn't big enough. Outside (or a garage) is big enough to accommodate a bigger living space.

Yeah, I know everyone kept telling me that they would grow quickly. But as a newbie I needed to experience it to truly understand it. I needed to upgrade that brooder more times than I ever expected.

 

[MTopPA_18707]

Thanks everyone for your replies to this topic.
I'm sure they will help out the newbies.


When the chicks were 4 weeks and younger - the mess and smell were manageable . . . after that not, so fun.

As someone posted, it is best not to have them in the house at all.

For people who must start the chicks inside, time the purchase of your chicks such that they can move outside no later than the end of week 4.

Kevin

 

[wingsofglory]

By then, a lot of the varieties are sold out of the hatcheries, here in alaska. The snow is just melted from my yard now. I wanted Cream Brabanters - sold out.

 

[Gmsg01]

I 'm lucky- have electricity out in the coop, after reading everything here, will definitely be raising the little peeps out there!

 

[MTopPA_18707]

wingsofglory

Yes - you're right !

That's why so many of us have to get chicks early.

Kevin

 

[Keileigh]

I've done better with odor control this year by using large pine shavings and adding a light layer every day if I can't do a full cleaning. We used newspapers in the past, and the smell was almost unbearable, not to mention the fact that the chicks were always spattered with poop. I even got my mom converted to pine shavings after she realized how much less stinky and dirty my chicks were than hers. My husband still complained about the smell a bit at first, but after I babysat my mom and sister's 35 chicks when they were both out of town last week, he realized that ours weren't so bad on their own. They're four weeks old now, though, and I agree, I'm ready for them to be out of the house. We don't have a garage or shed to put them in, so I have to wait till we get our coop moved to our new house. Hoping we don't end up with free-ranging house chickens like the ones in that carpet cleaning commercial...

 

[StrawHouseRanch]

Is Sweet PDZ safe to use in a brooder?

Thanks!
Paula

-Missouri