Where best to start chicks in house, garage or basement

[toyou]

good evening, with all my best intentions the 10 by 8 isolated ched-coop is not all finished. the one day old chicks are arriving next week. I will get 24 bantam brahma. where do you suggest I start them, i have verything, boxes, heat lamp and all. If in the house how long does that give me to complete the coop and move them outside before I have regrets.
thanks

 

[mrbstephens]

I keep mine in the garage. The chicks scratch and make a ton of dust so keeping them in the house is not a good idea. I move mine to a baby pool in the garage with window screens laying on top to keep them from flying out. They grow quickly! I'd say you'd want the coop done by the time they are 6-8 weeks old.

 

[jennh]

I have raised four different broods in the house. I probably wouldn't do it in the garage, especially if you use it for cars, etc. The basement is probably your best bet. If I would have had room, I would have done that. My first couple broods were in a vacant part of the kitchen. The next two were in the dining room in front of a window. One thing to keep in mind----THERE WILL BE LOTS OF DUST !!!

Another thing to keep in mind is how tame you want them to be. Mine are in a spot I pass all the time, so they are used to me. In the basement, are you going to go out of your way to tame them, or don't you care about that? Mine are my pets, with eggs as a bonus

I have 15 different breeds, who all know their names and come when I call them.

Jen

 

[Tallgirl17]

Right now I have eight, almost 2 week old babies in my bath tub! They'll be getting too big for it here soon but for now they are warm, draft free and safe! Door stays locked at all times and clean up is pretty easy! Now if I just had an empty hot tub to put them in next!

 

[GermanChick]

We have our 16, now 3 weeks old, chicks in our unfinished basement. I can't imagine having them upstairs in the living room..... they are DUSTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not a neat freak but that is just too much. I go down there a couple of times a day and spend some time with them and give them treats. They come running to the corner of the brooder as soon as they hear me coming down the stairs

 

[Illia]

Mine start out in the house (most of my chickens are born at home) for a while, then go out to the "brooder building" where any chicks can be put. There's no worry of socialization for me and them though. . . I work around the farm all day, every day, so I get to see them and say hi to them all the time. I'd never want to have unfriendly chickens though.

 

[GermanChick]

We have our 16, now 3 weeks old, chicks in our unfinished basement. I can't imagine having them upstairs in the living room..... they are DUSTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not a neat freak but that is just too much. I go down there a couple of times a day and spend some time with them and give them treats. They come running to the corner of the brooder as soon as they hear me coming down the stairs

 

[CluckU2]

Quote:
I was browsing Craig's List free section for materials to make a brooder and came across many hot tubs. I think there's something to this whole hot tub idea...

 

[felidaet]

My brooder is in the garage. I can't imagine having them in the house with all of the dust. The dust really starts being an issue by 2 to 3 weeks. My garage is attached to the house and insulated. When there are chicks in the garage the vehicles stay in the driveway. We keep the garage door the entire time to help keep the garage warm.

 

[Qi Chicken]

We have our 16 4 week old chicks in the mudroom. We can close the door and it is big enough to put a 8 X3 brooder. We can't use the back (usual) door but that's ok. Since the mudroom is usually for coats etc. We are not missing it much right now and the dust is not really seeping into the next room. It is dusty in there but not too bad. If I get more chicks (no no no) I think I would try the equine pellets that everyone raves about. That said, I have been painting my butt off trying to get it ready for them! I think they need their own space. And I would like to use the door again!