Can someone give me advice
Our take

| I have raised chicks before and have had great success, however, I haven't raised chicks in over 2 years and ive never raised speckled sussex. These girls are currently in a tote about 3x2ft but they are growing quick. They are showing great feather production but ive only had them going on 2 weeks now. I know the rough time frame is about 6-8 weeks for full feather development. I live in southwest pa where the weather has been all over the place. 80 degrees today but I'm sure we will see a 35 degree day before long. My concern is the tote being too small...the plan is/was to integrate them into my current coop (sectioned off of course) by end of april. I dont know if I have a full month of chick growth in their current state. 1) is their enclosure too small for just the 4 of them? 2) would it be a safer bet to run the heat lamp out to the coop and keep them outside? I dont know when or if we will see a freezing night. Im not sure if the heat lamp in the coop would be sufficient for freezing temps. Would love some advice for my babies [link] [comments] |
Read on the original site
Open the publisher's page for the full experience
Related Articles
- First chicks!Hello chicken veterans! (Photo taken right before bedding change, also their first time trying cucumber scraps! They loved them🫶) I raised chicks as a kid with my family, but stopped after the flock was brutalized by a family of raccoons (R.I.P. Red, you were my favorite). Now, I'm raising my own chicks! I got 6 to start: 4 Plymouth Rock and 2 Orpington. I bought them at my local Tractor Supply, and currently have these lovely ladies in a 4x4 indoor enclosure with a heat lamp mounted 3' up in their own room! When I bought them 4 weeks ago, I noticed some had wing feathers and tail feathers sooner than others. Now that they're nearly completely feathered, it's hard to tell how old they are especially since I couldn't possibly tell you when they were hatched. That being said, I'm not sure how to judge the temperature they'd be most comfortable at until their new coop is built. We had a cold front and with them being in a rather drafty room, I set up a small oscillating heater... but now I'm rethinking based on some of the temperatures you guys are putting the chickens out at. I'm hoping a more experienced chicken person can tell me how old you think these girls are and some guidance on indoor brooding > outdoor coop and run transition–especially for predators and safety. Do you allow them to free roam, and if so, how much area do they roam? Thanks in advance!! submitted by /u/unconscious-living [link] [comments]
- Chickens going outside 7-8 weeksHello, these are our first chickens and I don’t want to make mistakes. We’ve bought them on March 22nd, I believe they are almost 8 weeks old now, on May 9th. I’ve heard they can stand 35 degrees if they’re fully feathered. I’m no chicken expert. My wife thinks a heating lamp in the coop the first few cold nights is best. So that’s the plan. I’m new to chickens and if I can get by without heat, I think that would be best for them. We’ve let them outside about a dozen times before in this run. Not overnight, but for a few hours. We’re in Michigan, zone 6a. Next few nights will be 37, 35, 35, then forties. I don’t love the idea of running an extension cord to the coop, or a heat lamp in a wood box with pine shavings, but that’s the plan. At least for the first couple nights. My question is should I bring them inside? Should I do the heat lamp? Or are they fully feathered enough to not need that? I want them acclimated, I don’t intend on using heat next winter if I can help it. Any advice is appreciated. I’ve looked into chickens a lot online, but I’m no expert. Thank you! submitted by /u/MintySack [link] [comments]
- Need tips from experienced chicken ownersI have my 4 chicks in this temporary custom house I made, they got a feeder, water, and a heat lamp. I change the shavings daily and always make sure they have water and organic feed. I've hade them for 4 days now. I'm planing on getting a nice coop for them, found a awesome choice from Amazon, about $109. I need some tips of advice from some who has experience since this is my first time raising chicks. Incase you're wondering, all my chicks are females and are sapphire sky chickens submitted by /u/South-Status-5529 [link] [comments]
- Help me re-think my brooder setup.Hey all! I’m a chicken mom from the NE USA. I started keeping chickens about 3 years ago at home but had a lot of prior experience with poultry as someone who worked in the farm and feed industry for an extended period of time. When my husband and I bought our first home, it came with an old 10x14 shed with an addition (that was falling apart) that we ripped off to create our dream coop/chicken barn. We were newlyweds who had a lot more time and energy on our hands than we have now. It was still too cold, so I brooded the chicks indoors in our spare bathroom because aforementioned chicken barn was not ready. It was a messy nightmare, especially by week 3 when they’re not cute and tiny anymore. This year husband and I decided to add a few more birds to the flock because we have the room and unfortunately have lost a few birds. Here’s the catch; we have a nine month old now, and a cat who’s litter box is in our bathroom (we don’t have a basement) so the babies cannot go in the bathroom even if I wanted to repeat that hellish experience of keeping them inside. I said, chicks have to be done out in the barn. Now, I thought I had this all figured out. Chicken barn is sweet - it has power and many outlets. You walk in through swinging barn doors and coop is entirely enclosed in the addition. Addition is around 6x6 with its own door, you can walk in to where the roosting bars and nesting boxes are and easily clean/collect eggs/visit with the ladies. We just keep our mower out in the outer portion and use it for “dirty” storage like shovels and whatnot. This is where the brooder would go. It’s not drafty but it’s not insulated, it stays about 10-20* warmer inside the coop at all times depending on if the swinging barn doors are open. I know that chicks need an ambient temp of at least 70* outside of the enclosure and 95* in the brooder week 1 with space to get out of it and take it down 5* every week, etc. so I got a safe heater and set it up with a camera on it and a fire alarm to get the ambient temp in the barn up (my worst fear is a coop fire which is why I use a brooder plate over a lamp). I set up my brooder with the plate and everything felt nice and toasty warm. I waited for temps to be around 50-60* daytime consistently and above freezing at night, so 40-50 in the coop plus the additional heat but I guess the math just didn’t math? In theory everything should have been good, but today was a little cool and when I got these poor babies home and out in their brooder I knew they were cold and husband and I instantly rushed into action. Pleased to report, I am very attentive so all babies are fine and perked back up… they’re just in my house again. 😅 Sooo much better that than dead, but clearly I didn’t think this through well enough. At the end of the day, if they have to stay inside a few weeks, i will make it work, but does anyone have any ideas of how i could make the barn more suitable or what i could use other than a tent or something to make a brooder that would accommodate them outside? Anyone else in the NE USA that does their chicks in a barn? Do I just have to insulate? I take full responsibility for fumbling the timing and if need be they’ll just stay inside until the temps rise enough for me to get the brooder perfect or they’re ready to go out, whatever comes first, but would love some ideas. Pics of my ladies for tax, obvs. submitted by /u/anime_and_irezumi [link] [comments]