and what do I use? I just ordered 30, yes 30 new chicks from Ideal. They will be here in 2 weeks. I have my lamo for heat. They will go on my patio, but I am not sure what I need to put them in. How big a box for 30 chicks?????? And.,can I put my guinea chicks in with them too?
i really liked what kingsdaughter did on the brooders thread... i'll post a pic of what she did: i think it is really cool lol
30 babies get real big real fast!!! You need a very very very very large brooder. It'll need to be protected from predators as well if it's going to be outside. You'll have to build something pretty big out of wood. I had 24 in my office in a cardboard box that I "made" out of about 5 different boxes. I'm 5'9" and the box I made I could lay down in!!! They lasted to 5 weeks before I had to put them outside because they were getting crowded.
I started out with 17 and 3 ducks in a pack and play (a fold down crib that my daughter used as a baby.) The ducks outgrew the space in 2 weeks, and they went into their own pen. The chicks outgrew the crib a week later at 3 weeks, and went into a 5'x4' temp controled outdoor brooder. At 5 weeks, they outgrew that and went into an 8'x10' henhouse. At 10 weeks, it was a race against time and money to get the run in before the henhouse was too small! Thirty chicks means 120 square foot henhouse for adult chickens... so a 10'x12' minimum. Congratulations on your new babies coming! You can do it! You'll have some time to get everything ready, but hurry.. lol!
so maybe you should just have a temporary brooder until you can build a coop big enough for 30 chickens. just something until you can build a coop. (which you should do immediatly)
Oh Boy...... My 35 chicks stayed in a 54 x 38 brooder for their first five weeks. It was made of wood and plastic chicken wire. If your gonna keep them outside you will need to secure them well with metal wire. Everything eats chicks. When you say patio is it enclosed or open? Do you have a shed or garage? How many guineas vs chickens are you getting? Where are you located? Consider buying a used shed or large dog house. What about tempature? You know to keep them at 90+ degrees but you can't let them cook in the summer sun either. Round up as many gerbil/rabbit/guinea pig cages as you can as with this many birds you will most likely need to seperate a few at various times, especially with the Guineas.
Thanks for all of the replies. I actually have 2 coops ready, one is where my 2 Buff Orp hens, 4 RIR pullets and 2 RIR roosters live. It is big enough to add 15 more. The other is a smaller area and can house the other 15. My patio is enclosed, I live in SE Oklahoma, I am getting 5 lavendar guineas along with 25 chicks, my coops are all as predator proof as I can make them. So far, the only losses I have had with the others were to my own puppies, and they are not here anymore. I guess my first post didn't sound like I was prepared at all. The only thing I don't have yet is the initial box. I do have a swimming pool I could put them and cover them....
I kept mine in a wire rabbit cage until they got too big. I tied a lamp to the top to keep heat on them until they got big enough to go without.
You could also think about just brooding them in the empty coop, until they need more space and then splitting them up. I've brooded in the house and in the coop. That's assuming that your coop is well ventilated for daytime heat, so they don't overheat. To use a pool on your patio, you could get a roll of hardware cloth and use that to circle the pool. It's stiff enough to stand on it's own and not need a frame. Big appliance or furniture boxes work great. We bought a freezer the first year we brooded chicks, but some people have gotten boxes by asking at appliance or furniture stores.