I'm obsessed with the idea of raising heavy breed chickens for fresh eggs, entertainment and organic meat. I've got the space and a good plan for a henhouse. I received the McMurray hatchery catalog in the mail and see that they can deliver chicks through the end of November. I've been doing much research and feel comfortable with the process and the amount of time involved.
I only have one real hang-up. If I raise baby chicks now, can I acclimate them to the cold once they are ready to transition outside? I'm in NE Ohio.
And if this is feasable, what should I do to actually make the transition? Or am I wasting my money?
Can I raise chicks this late into the fall?
You can--but the bedroom gets very stinky. They will need to be indoors for at least 6-8 weeks and then gradually moved into a sheltered, probably heated coop. A little time each day. Keeping their water from freezing is the main problem. You should be able to gradually reduce supplemental heat. Once the are fully fledged and accustomed to it, chickens have a pretty high tolerance for cold--as long as they are sheltered and dry.
As long as you have a way to keep them warm while they are growing, it should work fine. I move my young ones to the outside pen (covered with plastic) in April and it's cold here in April. They are in the house till they are about 3 weeks old then I put them out there with a little pop up tent (kids size) with a light in it for heat. The come in and out as they please and I decrease the size of the light as they grow. By the time they are a couple months old, they should be acclimated, but I would give them a covered pen or light if they need it.
OK...Jylgaskin!
you can't just say you use a pop-up kid's size tent for your birdies and not show a picture! I love when people are creative with non-commercial chicken items!
Please share :)
~music
I don't have any photos, but it was a pretty simple operation. It's one of thoes dome tents with the flexable plastic supports and a zipper door. It has a vent at the top with a rain shield and a window, which is ideal for ventelation. I put several inches of shavings on the floor and suspend the light in the top. When they are in the house I can zip up the door and keep almost all the dust inside. (I check on them throught the top), when I need to clean it, I scoop up the chicks, drag the whole thing outside and empty it out in the garden. By the time they are ready to move outside, I move the tent too and fold the door under. They can come and go at will in the pen. If It's really cold, I just zip it back up for the night.
I start out with 100 wat bulbs and finish with 40. I got the tent at a yard sale. The other thing I have that works really well is the fold up travel play pens with the mesh sides, though they do get dusty in the house, so I throw a sheet over it. I found one last summer that has a zip off top. It's great!
Excellent idea! I've been using a children's hard plastic swimming pool which didn't contain the dust at all.
WOW! How creative! How early do your chicks start crowing? That's my main hang-up right now. My husband absolutely says no to crowing chicks in the basement and I don't know if they will start crowing before they are old enough to be hardened off.
drea_kat,
With the right size and shape of brooding environment ... winter brooding can be simple. I'd be cautious about the potential for the heat lamp to fail or to start a fire. A tent sounds like a clever means of keeping the heat inside. Keeping the temperature normal would be critical and might be difficult to achieve. A brooder area inside a home or garage would be significantly less risky than outside in the winter weather.
I use a similar but different 2 sq ft wooden box with the bottom and top open to the ground and sky. The grass beneath makes for the perfect walking surface. The box can be moved a few feet daily for a fresh spot to walk about as they poo and nibble on the grass ... plus the heat lamp will stress the grass. I use a 1 inch welded wire on the bottom and top to prevent predators from gaining access. The top wire removes easily since I use nails that twist but are bent to hold the 4 corners of the fence snug on top and secure for when I need to change their water or add feed. The heat lamp is on an extension cord hanging above the brooder box but nearly resting on the top mesh wire. Even in the winter or early Spring nights ... a simple contained brooder box will work fine if enough steady heat is provided. Heat lamps work well sending out warmth about 2 ft around so a 2ft sq box works perfectly with the lamp hanging above in the middle. As the chicks get older ... I allow them to walk around outside the brooder box by placing a brick beneath one side of the box a few inches high. Allowing the chicks to wander about is ONLY for those without dogs or cats which might harm the chicks outside the brooder box. This type of brooder box has worked quite well for me to raise ducks, guineas and geese too. It is a lot of fun to see them scurrying about in the yard in front of my office window where I have my computer and work desk. I brood ONLY in the summer months since extreme cold temperatures are mostly eliminated as an issue.
I have a flock of 15 game fowl hens. I have turned over all my brooding and incubating duties to them. The Game Fowl hens do the baby raising naturally and their broods need only to be rounded up in the evenings and put into a brooder nesting box till early morning and released again. Having a brooding mother hen situation nearly eliminates the need to feed and water the chicks/keets/ducklings as the hens find them bugs and seeds and lead them to water. Kelly
This message was edited Jan 18, 2009 10:16 AM