Can a brooder pen be too big?

[JimyJon]

Hello first time post. Long story ill try to keep it short. We have 7 hens now and want to get more. We have purchased the hens as Ready to Lay, but now have just ordered 20 chicks to grow the flock. With the new chicks I have planned to build a whole new bigger coop in another part of the yard. So that leaves me with the old coop, can i use it to brood the chicks? It has electricity in it for a heat source. The space is 8'x8' inside and lots of space outside for the run. We would move the other hens to the new coop and run. So can i just clean it out well and throw down some new shavings and let the chicks free in there? or would i need to partition off a smaller space within the coop to keep them contained? There is a door to outside that will stay closed until they are less heat dependent. Any help is appreciated

thanks
James

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would section it off while they are quite small so none wander to far from the heat source.
I have great success with a 4x8 brooder space for the first few weeks. Once they are a bit bigger and more coordinated they can get back to the heat easier.

 

[Apis mellifera]

My brooder is 4x8 and I had a dozen chicks in it, and they do great. As long as they can get to heat and warm up its fine.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Agreed, section off part of it for the first week or so (a very cheap way would be to take apart cardboard boxes in the recycle pile and tape them to make a wall, or if you have leftover fencing that's small enough mesh you could screw that into place temporarily). After a week or two they can handle more space, like I let 2-week-olds have full coop and run access.