Where to keep em till they can live in the coop??

[BFDT!]

Hi every one! Newbe here :

I saw chicks in the farm supply store....actually I heard them first .
I knew right there that I just had to have them....Easter syndrome I guess though The though has crossed my mind more than once.

So I'm thinking ...Can I really do this....I've got a place and I know I can build a coop and run
There are still questions in my mind

Where can I raise them till they're ready to live out doors?....how big do they need to be?

It's 50' at night and will be for a month or more so out in the shed is not an option

There are cats a dog and an opossum here....I'm at teh how am I going to do this stage

Another is coop location and placement...When teh sun starts beating it's going to get hot in the coop even with ventilation

The other issue is code...I live on 3 acres in Rockbridge county VA and can't find anything on the net

I've tons of questions yet so I will be searching the forum...Just wanted to say Hi!!!

 

[Baylen]

This is our first adventure with chicks, so I'm hardly an expert! Right now, we have our 2 (3 week old) EEs in a large wire dog crate and 2 couple of day old Leghorn chicks in a galvanized washtub with a 100 watt lightbulb all in the living room! The EEs started in the washtub but got too big. I figure by the time the coop is done and they're ready to move in, the little ones will move up to the dog crate. Yup, it's messy & noisy, but I figure it will only be for a few more weeks. Then I'll probably want more chicks! Good luck with your adventure!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Ask your local store (I got mine at Walmart) for a watermelon box, it folds down to fit in a van or truck and it works GREAT for chicks and the good thing is...the box is FREE

You can keep them in the garage which is where I keep mine. All you will need to do in a few weeks is build some sort of screen cover so they don't start jumping out becuase they WILL

Just throw some pine shaving in the bottom of it and you have a nice brooder. I also make a plywood floor for it as there is a hole in the bottom of the boxes but that's not hard to do at all. Oh and be sure to set it up on some pieces of 2x4's so it's not directly on the ground as it needs some breathing space so the floor does not get/stay damp. They can stay in that box until they are ready for the big house

 

[BFDT!]

Quote:
Thanks for the reply Baylen!!!

I've got to get 6 at a time....are you keeping the older ones under a lamp too? do they need it?

Some of these little ones look like they've been clipped already....half down and feathers running all round the place

My biggest concern is the temp.....Thanx again..good luck to you too!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I forgot to mention...we have a large 8x8 coop and we jsut keep out door wide open during the day and it doesn't get that warm in there really. You can also freeze 2 liter bottles of water and throw them all over the coop floor. You will find on hot days the chickens lay next to them and dust bathe by them LOL Mine also go under the coop to stay cool. I also give them a corner full of sand which they love to dust bathe in to stay nice and cool. Keep cold water handy for them always...inside the coop and outside (out of the sun) if they are free ranged.

 

[Kansaseq]

I brood mine in the bathroom in a Rubbermaid tub, then a rabbit cage, and move them to larger and larger cages as they get bigger. But if I had a garage and a watermelon box, I'd do it that way.

 

[BFDT!]

Quote:
Great Idea!!!! thanks!!!

 

[BFDT!]

Quote:
Thank you ...and everyone for the input!!

 

[Eggnonymous]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of chicken keeping!

We are 5 weeks into it and we started out with the XL Sterilite tub (cheaper thatn a Rubmd.) then I was going to use a watermelon box, but our Walmart uses large semi-perm. plastic things that they refill so I had to do something else. I checked w/our local Lowes and HD about a Frig box. Though they didn't have one at that moment, I left my name and got a call a couple of days later to pick one up (FWIW - frig. manufacs. are not doing boxes as much anymore - pallets/padding/wrap are the norm now). The ends come off the box and it folds up so I could get it in my Pilot. I cut off one side (put that in the bottom to reinforce), used duct tape and clamps on the corners and got a used large screen from a Hab. for Hum. Restore ($4). I think chicks will still need a light for warmth at night (they have no body fat to insulate themselves yet). I posted an update here last night with more pics, but here's what our "teen-chick condo" looks like. Good luck!

 

[fastpat]

BFDT! :

Hi every one! Newbe here :

I saw chicks in the farm supply store....actually I heard them first .
I knew right there that I just had to have them....Easter syndrome I guess though The though has crossed my mind more than once.

So I'm thinking ...Can I really do this....I've got a place and I know I can build a coop and run
There are still questions in my mind

Where can I raise them till they're ready to live out doors?....how big do they need to be?

It's 50' at night and will be for a month or more so out in the shed is not an option

There are cats a dog and an opossum here....I'm at teh how am I going to do this stage

Another is coop location and placement...When teh sun starts beating it's going to get hot in the coop even with ventilation

The other issue is code...I live on 3 acres in Rockbridge county VA and can't find anything on the net

I've tons of questions yet so I will be searching the forum...Just wanted to say Hi!!!

I made a spare bathroom into a temporary brooder, giving my 27 chicks a bit over half the floor space, about 21 square feet. I have a single brooder heat lamp, two of the smaller chick feeders, another larger 7 pound feeder for when they're larger, and a single one gallon waterer. Most of this equipment was purchased at Tractor Supply Company (TSC). Since I have a ceramic tile floor, I've put the wood chips directly on the floor which has worked out well. I scoop them up with an ordinary dust pan when needed and put down fresh chips.

Chicks can't live outdoors unless the temps are in the 70's, they'll need a coop pretty much until they're about 9 months old, best have one available by the time they're from 6 weeks to 8 weeks old, while you didn't put where you live in your profile (Virginia coast or mountains?), it's likely you'll need a heat lamp in your coop if your day time temps are still in the 50's. There's a thread on brooders with lots of photos, a good resource.​