You will all laugh at me but I have 5 chicks in my bathtub!! This is my first year raising chickens and my silly hen decided to have chicks in october! Since I live in Oregon it is pretty cold here but the chicks are getting bigger and I would love my bathroom back, so my questions is, how old will the babies have to be before they can stay outside??? Thanks to all for any help as I think I am going crazy!!!
Lisa
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Please help!!
If they are still with there mother she problaly will keep them warm,If you put them in the coop with her and heat lamp for them so they can get under it,how cold is it there?Going from a warm house to a cold coop I don`t know,If you could transsion them mabe put them in there in the daytime and bring them in at night untill they get used to the cold.
I kinda think... If it were me... would I survive the night? Humm.. I think your stuck with house chickens for a while longer if they don't have their mom..
Hi Lisa, and welcome to the wacky world of chicken, and their goofy owners...LOL...Your not that far from me and your weather is similiar this time of the year especially. Am I right in assuming you don't have a coop ready for them. Having them in your bathroom truly will drive you crazy as they will destroy it at some point. They would have to be at least four months old to make it outside in these temps. However if you have a coop the mother will care for them in the coop and take them outside and when they get cold they will duck under her for warmth...If mom is no longer there they would need a heat lamp as was stated earlier...Good luck...Haystack
Warmth is primary but predators are also primary. What are the critters in your area? Look it up and tell us. Also what is the size of your coop and space. How insulated is the soil/concrete/flooring? What are you feeding your chicks? Do you have antibiotics for coccidia etc. I am a natural and free-ranger with my chickens but as a veterinarian so many variables determine you answer. If you live here let them out!
Its nice to have a vet with us.Love the picuture.Welcome Soferdig
I got my chicks in February last year when it was rather cold. I kept mine in a water trough in the laundry room (like a deep, oval resin tub) with wood chips in the bottom, a feeder, a waterer and a heat lamp on one end of the oval (so they could move closer or farther away). I don't know if you've got room for that. But you might not need that much space depending on how many chicks you have. Has the mom been inside since the weather went cold? I'm wondering if she won't be susceptible to the cold since she hasn't slowly acclimated (but I'm a noob, so I'd like to hear what others have to say). In particular, I've got one roo that the dog attacked, and he was missing about 1/3 of his feathers. We brought him inside a warm room where we have aquariums that need to stay warm and he's pretty well feathered out now. Since these roosters stay outside in a small coop (I'm working up the nerve to slaughter them), I worry about him not getting acclimated to the cold all this time. I keep an eye on them for frostbite and whatnot, but they're Buff Orpingtons, and they seem to be handling the weather really well (we keep plywood over the top to keep the rain out). We haven't had extremely cold temps though, and no snow so far.
Anyway, don't want a bird to suffer even if I am going to eat it here shortly.
Hi Guys, I cant thank you enough for all the insite!! I do have a coop for them but the floor is just the ground. as far as there mother, I let her back outside a week ago as she was starting go get upset in the bathroom and is doing great! I took them outside yesterday for a field trip and the other 3 chickens didnt seem to care but the mother pecked them so hard she pulled out feathers! Needless to say the are back in the house! We dont have to many predators around here but a bunch of stray cats that I now feed. They have a pretty big area 120 x 120' that is fenced but the cats come over and leave the large chickens alone! I had no idea that I needed to vaccinate the chicken! I went to the farm store and they said all the I needed was the medicated food. I guess I should have called the vet!! Well after the help from all of you I guess I am destined to have chicks in the house!! They are cute little suckers!!! Thanks to all of you, you really helped me out!!
Lisa
Do you have a dog crate?Maybe you could put the crate in the coop with a heat lamp,that way they would get used to one another,fill the bottom with lots of shavings or straw because of the dirt floor being cold a feeder and a heated pet bowl for water.The tub thing sounds good to but you would have to cover the top with something to keep the big girls out.Just some more thoughts I know what its like to chicks in the house,very dusty.
I always use my spare bathtub. Very easy to clean using shredded newspaper over a bath rug to keep them from slipping. With the curtain closed it keeps them warm and happy until 2 mos.
after doing these kind of things, for years, -- I now have a rule, -- no chickens in the house, --
This message was edited Jan 29, 2011 10:45 AM
How would we know that we were being duped?
How are we to know the things?
Unfortunately Green I don't have the answer to that question either. Maybe it's a question for the Administration...Hay
If you are talkin about trades, it's a crap shoot.. I have yet to get ripped off here.. I think it is quickly dealt with when things get real bad.
Other than that, just start out slow.. ? Leave feedback for all your trades.. read theirs.. and trust that DGrs have integrity. :)