Chook Me!

my chick brooder is about 3 ft in circumference (all the way around) is that big enough for 50 chicks?

i have a brooder that i made out of chicken wire and is 3 feet in circumference. i am wondering if that is big enough for 50 chicks.(cornish rock pullets) i just got them yesterday and they are about 1 day old now. how warm should it be in there. its about 80 degrees right now, its june and is about 75-80 degrees outside. they also are pooing out green pasty poo...what is that all about? the chicken wire is about 3 feet or so high. can predators like cats climb over that? there is a crib-like structure that is fenced with chicken wire around the booder aswell. i have tried an plugged all the holes that preadators could get into but what is the best way to keep them out? how do i control the flies? can i hang fly traps...poison?... there is spray called Branco and it says its for horses can it be used on chickens? there also is a spray called "Poultry Protector" that the Welp Hatchery in IA sells...could that work to? by the way- i do live on a farm if that helps?... i need help...! if it is to small what size should it be?

Public Comments

1. R U CRAZY!!!of cores not!! 4 any of that ! my cat jumps up the porch and iits 5 ft tall!!oh and that poultry protector is 4 al ready DEAD poultry (*)
2. Do not use Bronco fly spray on your chicks. They need to be kept indoors at night. You will need much more space than 3 ft for 50 chicks. I start mine with more than that I only do about 25 at a time. I have a barn that we start them in. They are inside and I pile hay bales up to make a box about 4x6feet. Then I hang a heat lamp over the top. As they grow I increase their space until they have free run of the building which is about 10 or 12 feet by about 14 feet or so. When they are large enough that they can not go thru the fence I let them out in the am and andput them in at night. You will not stop a predator with wire fencing. You need to have a building for them to be in a night like a storage shed or something like that. As for the green pasty poo that is what baby chicks poo. Are you following the feed schedlue for cornish rock pulletts exactly as they tell you to? You must feed them food all the time for the first 5 days after that you MUST feed them for 12 hours and then pull up ALL the feed for 12 hours. If you do not you will find your chickens "flipped" they will be dead and laying on their backs. They can have heart attacks from the rapid growth rate. So you restrict the feed to help with the flip problem. I have chickens and if I can answer any questions e-mail me.