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2:01 pm
April 16, 2009
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beeyourself
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SarahGrace has this question…and I'm moving it to this topic. Sarah, you might even find your answer in this thread! (There is also a Chicken Coop topic started too…check it out!)
SarahGrace said:
When you bring baby chicks home, like Suzanne did from her town store, they have to stay inside, correct?
Also, there's an old privy near our cabin (previous owners filled it up and used it as a storage area) could it be turned into a chicken house or would it be too small?
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3:28 pm
April 16, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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It would be fine as long as they are small, like maybe for a month. And it would depend on how many you are putting in there.
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3:34 pm
April 16, 2009
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WV_Hills
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The catalogs from the poultry breeders all advertise a poultry brooder – 36" x 30" – they claim will hold 48 chickens up to 4 weeks old. After that they have a "grow cage" of the same dimension which they recommend to hold 24 chickens up to 8 weeks old. That seems small to me, but that appears to be the size the professional guys use. (Not the factory egg farms – just people raising chickens for eggs and meat.) So unless you have a really small outhouse, I'd say you'll have enough room to house a couple of dozen until the weather warms up enough to let them out in the world.
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3:59 pm
April 16, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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Little ones really dont want a lot of alone time the first couple months or so. You will find them huddled all together, especially if they get scared or its dark. And since I got 28 in a 1ft square box from Ideal Hatchery you know they dont take up much room. But they do grow FAST! M28 stayed in a large plastic tote for3 or 4 weeks till they were jumping/flying out of it. Then just dumped them into the pen and let em go.
Guess it all depends on if your privy was a one holer or two!
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4:00 pm
April 16, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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GeorgiaZ said:
I have a new baby chick question myself. This is a situation new to me.
My silky/frizzles should be hatching in the next couple weeks or so. They are in the pen with the hens and 2 roosters. Should I worry about the roosters hurting them? I have plenty of room to divide them. I sold the cornish x chickens yesterday and now have more room. Also once they hop out of the nest, will they stay out? Or will I need to put them where they can get back in the nest? Ive never had babies WITH mamas before. I have always been the mama!
Im bumping me to the front page so I dont get forgotten, even though I know many of you try so hard to.
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4:10 pm
April 16, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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GeorgiaZ:
I thought that as long as the mama accepts them, she will take care of them–warmth, protection, cleanup. Maybe they DO have some maternal instinct! Can't you just see the mama sayin' "oh aren't they soooooo cute!", just like we do? She would just tuck them up under her skirts and snug them up!!
SaraGrace: As for the outhouse . . .any place will do, but I would make sure all of the 'openings' are closed off. It would have to be a gold pated chicken for me to have to retrieve it if it fallls in! 
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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4:25 pm
April 16, 2009
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52
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 391 | |
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I'm no expert (that's twice now), but I wouldn't put them out until they have pretty good feathers, unless you have some sort of heat source. I'm using a red 100 watt floodlight in the basement, which is heated. An unheated confined space outside with the light as close to the chicks as possible would probably be okay if the temperature doesn't get close to freezing, but I don't want to take the chance around here. In any case, they need a heat source when they're just days old—-til they get some feathers.
We have/had 12 grown chickens in an 8x8 house and there's more than enough room, if that helps. The books talk about square feet per chicken, but I'm not near the books——-
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4:27 pm
April 16, 2009
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52
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 391 | |
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Now that I think about it, we had 11 chickens and 2 ducks in that 8x8 space. 
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4:43 pm
April 16, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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I kind of thought that way too Monica, but husband says the roos need to be put somewhere else till they get bigger. I cant believe that after 24 years he still has lapses of thinking he may be right about something. And as much as I love him, if he fell in one of those holes, I wouldnt save him either!
I cannot wait for these little things to hatch, The eggs are so tiny, I can just imagine how tiny the chicks will be. And I still have 2 sitting in the same box. So "Are YOU my mama?" will be the question of the day. But then they all lay eggs in those boxes, so I will have no idea who really belongs to who…whom…who?
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4:49 pm
April 16, 2009
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Jayne
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52 said:
I'm no expert (that's twice now),
Marking this day! When he says it 12 times, he has to show his face! LOL
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5:02 pm
April 16, 2009
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SarahGrace
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 465 | |
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Thanks for all the replies! I'm not thinking about getting any this year, but I would like to next spring. However, it sounds like maybe I should buy when the hens are full or almost full grown. We'll be in the cabin (under 800 sq.ft.) so I don't think I'll have room to put them! Guess it will depend on how many I get too.
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5:02 pm
April 16, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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 Oh I will be thinking up some REALLY good ones. . .
. . . .like . . . . Is this safe to eat???
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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5:07 pm
April 16, 2009
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beeyourself
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GeorgiaZ said:
GeorgiaZ said:
I have a new baby chick question myself. This is a situation new to me.
My silky/frizzles should be hatching in the next couple weeks or so. They are in the pen with the hens and 2 roosters. Should I worry about the roosters hurting them? I have plenty of room to divide them. I sold the cornish x chickens yesterday and now have more room. Also once they hop out of the nest, will they stay out? Or will I need to put them where they can get back in the nest? Ive never had babies WITH mamas before. I have always been the mama!
Im bumping me to the front page so I dont get forgotten, even though I know many of you try so hard to.
Georgia…I think you should go over to our Jibber and tell what happened to you yesterday. IMO, I think you should make that witch come back and guard the baby chicks…and I'd tie the meanest rooster to her…and also one of the dogs from next door.
I think that until the chicks got big enough not to look like food…I'd keep the roos away…I think mama will take care of it, but I'd be worried and would want to be sure…and I wouldn't even think of worrying about it if they weren't housed together…like if they were free range? Then I know mama would defend them…but they might gang up on mama since they are penned together.
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5:16 pm
April 16, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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Since the cornish are gone now, I think I will put the roos and maybe the other mamas in there once they start hatching. Even if the mamas do protect them, those roos are a lot bigger than the hens, and 2 of the hens that are sitting are 2 of the smallest ones. I doubt they even weigh 3 pounds each.
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2:48 pm
April 20, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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 We got our chicks 21 feb of this year. We have been giving them chick starter as their main diet. (I confess: I have been giving them dried peas as treats!! & a couple of worms from the garden.) They get chick grit and plenty of water. When do I put them on layer mash? Do I have to put them on finisher/growth first? This is so confusing with the time frames.
They are about 2/3 finished with the second 50 #bag of chick food. I should be buying another bag of food by this weekend, but not sure which kind to get. They sure do like to eat!
Anybody???
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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3:02 pm
April 20, 2009
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GeorgiaZ
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I never fed mine the layer until they were several 4-5 months old. I asked the same question on BYC the forum for anything you want to know about chickens and got a dozen conflicting answers. Anything from what great grandma did to what the chicken scientist say to do. I honestly dont think chickens care what they eat, as long as they do. But I didnt see where layer was necessary until they were capable of laying. jmo
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4:26 pm
April 20, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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Thanks Georgia Z.
I started there, but got a WIDE array of answers too. It even got a bit mean, so I am sooooo thankful that I have found this site! I thought 'grower/finisher' was to make them gain weight for the freezer, because of a lowered protein content.
- Layer mash jumps back up to 16%.
- grower/finish 15%
- Chick starter is 20%
(c'mon 52: this could be #3 of 12.)
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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4:54 pm
April 20, 2009
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52
| | Stringtown, WV | |
| Mighty Chicken | posts 391 | |
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OK—#3—I'm no expert, but I think the reason to keep them on chick starter for a few months, besides the higher protein, is because it's medicated.
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4:58 pm
April 20, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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Thank you 52! That really was a question BTW. I didn't know it had medication in it, too.
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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8:34 pm
April 20, 2009
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Jayne
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52 said:
OK—#3—I'm no expert, but I think the reason to keep them on chick starter for a few months, besides the higher protein, is because it's medicated.
Marking this day again! 52 are you really a guy?? Guys don't admit these things this many times……are we going to 10 or 12 no experts til there's a picture??
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