How many chicks in a bathtub?

[Amandakae]

Hello Everyone!! I am SOO excited, after many months of trying to get my husband on board, we have decided to get our chickens!!! We live in the country, have 4 kids, and we eat 18 eggs EVERYDAY!!! I'd say it's time for chickens
My question is, I am thinking of getting 40 non sexed chicks (since they are cheaper), hoping for 20ish hens, and then planning to fry the rest once they are gown (I really hope I'll be able to, I'm having issues imaging myself eating an animal I knew....

). Will 40 chicks fit in a good sized bathtub? Or is that wayyy too many to have in the house at once? I had chickens when we were kids, so I'm not a total newbie. Oh, and the enclosed part of the coop is 12X12. Thanks in advance!!

Mandy

 

[Folly's place]

I've done 25 in a bathtub for about three horrible weeks, and don't recommend it! Welcome!!! The dust is unbelievable, and the little darlings will hop out in no time flat. Maybe for the first week only? I'd recommend that you use one or two big stock tanks with hardware cloth tops, or a very large shipping crate, or make something. Consider 25 chicks to start if space is an issue. I have done 50 at once but it takes a lot more space. Mary

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You don't want 40 chicks in your bathtub trust me LOL.

The smell is awful. They emit a huge amount of dust and there wouldn't be room for that many.

They grow super fast and start flying!!!

Here are space recommendations:
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

Hang your heat lamps at least two ways not including the clamp. Use a ceramic socket only. Don't allow flammables near the lamp and don't allow raindrops to spatter the lamp (the bulb will explode).

Additionally I recommend putting fencing across the brooder so it is impossible for the light to fall into the bedding or for the chicks to fly out.

One cheap way to do all this is a tarp on the floor and cardboard:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/kathyinmos-brooders
scroll down

The advantage to keeping them all together is that they will remain friends when kept together.

I brood in the coop now. Just make sure that the electrical is all safe etc. I don't brood in the garage anymore unless it is wintertime and too cold out in the coop even with heat lamps.

If you brood in the coop make sure you still use the circle of cardboard etc. because the little ones will get stuck in the corner and can't find their way back to the light. They can get trampled in the corners too and it needs to be draft-free.

I can say that you will be wanting to put them into the coop ASAP under the heat lamps as they grow so fast and make such a mess. If you can safely brood in the coop that would be the way to go.

Enjoy your chicks when they arrive!

 

[kmartinez]

I have 17 in a spare bedroom in a huge box. They are adorable I love them but I had to move stuff out of that room once they started getting feathers in. It was a study room so all the books out the couch i tarped. That room has to be dust twice daily its unreal...I have no choice though because its very cold here so i have to keep inside. As soon as I can I will be putting them in my garage.

IMO i would not keep them in a bathroom seriously the dust is just mind blowing. I have to dry swiffer my spare rooms walls every night and I can easily go through a box in a couple days, i even have to clean the rooms light fixture. The blinds in that room I will be tossing as they are so dusty. what ever room u use clear it out and tarp furniture u cant move because everything will be covered in dust.

 

[mayble]

Just curious - does anyone use an air purifier to try to keep the dust under control?
I use them in my bird rooms (I raise finches) and they work well, but I'm sure a bunch of downy little chicks can generate a lot of dust. I wonder if keeping one next to the brooder (positioned so it wouldn't create a draft on the chicks) would help make life easier, and maybe keep odor down as well.
My chicks aren't coming until April, so I'm still working out where and how to keep them.

 

[Southern Dad]

We use a giant Rubbermaid tote as our brooder and only about six chicks. We could have probably had double that in there but that was enough.

 

[Folly's place]

Remember that inhaling that dust is VERY BAD for you, especially if you have asthma. There is no way to control the dust indoors, and the humidity is also amazing. Out in the coop, or at least in the garage, not in the house. A few chicks might work, but 25 to 50 is just too much of a good thing.

Mary

 

[donrae]

I never, ever brood chicks in the house. I can't imagine breathing that stuff into my lungs

. Chicks do fine in a reasonable insulated outbuilding. As long as they're dry and out of the wind, they're good. The heat lamp keeps the temp around 100 degrees in one space, and they're fine with whatever the ambient temp is outside.

My advice would be to order way fewer chicks, and go with sexed pullets. Getting even 20 sexed pullets will be about as much as 40 straight run, and you'll be happier in the long run. If you're worried about cost, think of the feed bill for all those cockerels. Plus, cockerels mature faster than pullets, and they'll start ganging up on your little girls around 4-5 months old. Unless you have a separate pen for the males, things can get pretty ugly. If you want to butcher some birds for meat, start a lot smaller until you know your tolerance for butchering and eating and animal you raised. Chances are you're going to get an Oops rooster or two anyway, you can practice on them.

Since your coop wont' be at max capacity with 20 birds, you'll have room to add some pullets each year to have eggs year round.