Tag: brooder

Raising Winter Chicks in Phoenix

When Can Chicks Be Moved Outside in Phoenix?

It’s a good guess you have your new chicks in a box in the garage or shed and are watching them quickly outgrow their safe haven of comfort and warmth.
At about 6 weeks old they are becoming a handful, looking a bit crowded in their quarters, and you’ve had enough of keeping up with the mess. I understand your dilemma and have good news for you. We live in Phoenix! With mild winter temperatures, even at 6 weeks, your chicks will be fine outside with the right housing accommodations. However, first, you’ll want to lower the temperature in their brooder over the next few days to get them used to cooler temperatures.

A suitable coop for 6-week-old chicks is something that will protect them from wind and rain. If your coop is drafty, a large tarp will do wonders. Buy the highest-grade tarp you can find, or use two.
If there’s a cold snap, say below 50 degrees, simply cover the coop with a heavy blanket. Moving blankets from Harbor Freight work great and they’re only $8. The chicks will huddle together at night and keep each other warm.
Give them lots of shavings or hay in the coop, and provide a low-sided brooder box filled with shavings in the corner for them to sleep in. If they don’t use it, that’s okay too.

Prepare for the Phoenix Heat Now

While watching your chicks grow in the confinements of their coop, this is a good time to think about summer’s arrival and prepare for their outdoor environment. Keeping chickens in Phoenix is tough, keeping them in small confinement quite honestly… can be a death sentence.
June and July will no doubt reach 110 to 115 degrees. This means, your coop could easily exceed 120 degrees, even if it’s in the shade. It’s imperative to provide a play area where they can dig holes in the dirt to stay cool.
A play area can simply be a fenced area off the coop. Look for or create a shady spot preferably near a water source so it’s easy for you to access. This is important because there will be days when you’ll want to use a mister, or maybe flood them a spot to help them cool off.

I wasn’t kidding!
Back to Chicken Keeping Resources HOME PAGE

 

Picked On, Pecked On Chicks. Why and What To Do?

Let’s start at the beginning with chicks in the brooder. Chicks don’t just peck each other for lack of something to do. There is an underlying problem causing them stress and/or aggravation. As with any living creature, the first and foremost necessity for well-being is comfort.
Providing chick starter crumbles and fresh water is a given, so we can certainly rule out hunger as the stress factor. It is my opinion there are two other very important factors to consider. Living environment and lighting, with significant emphasis on the latter. Overcrowding may or may not be the culprit in their acquired pecking behavior. However, if ample space is not provided away from a bright light heat source, their comfort may be compromised.
Always provide more than one feeder so weaker birds are not bullied. Also, by week 3, keep them busy with offerings of green grass, especially when you witness aggression.
You may want to make the switch from a heat lamp and switch to radiant heat from a heat plate brooder. This will solve your fluctuating temperature problem, and providing you have a good number of chicks, it will be sufficient in keeping them warm.

Radiant Heat Plate by Brinsea

Note: If you feel they are too cold you can supplement with a low-wattage red heat lamp. Low-wattage heat bulbs are sold for reptiles, I usually use a 50, or 100, depending on how cold it is.
I’m convinced that happy and content chickens start in the brooder. It’s easy to tell if the brooder has comfort zones. You should see some birds huddled together under the heat source, some resting alone, some scratching in the litter, and some eating. Watch your chicks, their behavior says it all.

Back to HOME PAGE

A Nifty Thrifty Brooder

A Brooder Doesn’t Need To Be Fancy – Just Functional

On a Budget?

This brooder is nothing more than a cardboard box, 10ft long 3ft. wide, and 16′ high. If your box isn’t high enough you can easily attach additional cardboard to the sides using zip ties.
Duct tape and zip ties are my friend, be creative, you’ll be amazed at what you can build with what was once considered junk in the garage or shed.
I found some leftover ceramic floor tiles in the garage and used them to line the bottom of the brooder. The first week I use only paper towels on the bottom, then pine shavings around the second week.
I use a few bricks to build a platform in the center of the brooder where their feeder sets, and the same for the drinker in one corner of the brooder. Day-old chicks will have no problem accessing their food and water sources if both are raised, this limits feed waste and help keep the water clean.
Chicken wire simply laid over the top of the brooder will be sufficient in confining them. They have little interest in escaping but can spook easily when disturbed by basic brooder chores, so better safe than sorry.

Revised: Today we use radiant heat, a safer more natural source of heat.

The heat lamp is best situated at one end of the brooder, it’s important to have sufficient space for your chicks to find their comfort zone. It’s a good idea to have a thermometer at both ends of the brooder, but if you watch your chicks’ behavior it’s quite obvious when they are cold or hot.
When they’re cold they will all huddle together under the heat lamp, when hot they’ll lie down holding their wings away from their body. Somewhere in between is where you want to keep your babies, just watch them, and they’ll be quick to inform you of a problem.

Back to Chicken Keeping Resources HOME PAGE