How to raise chicks in cold temperatures?

[BigHead]

Temperatures average 25 at night and 35 during the day and sometimes much colder than 25. My chicks will be in a building so wind will be off them but no heat. What should I do to keep them warm and healthy?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How old are they, fully feathered chicks don't need any extra heat, I think they are much healthier during the cold seasons than the warm ones.

 

[BigHead]

I'm just preparing for the winter. Day old chicks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally use a heat lamp until they are feathered, with the colder days I would use it a bit longer than in spring or summer. I hang the lamp from the ceiling on a piece of twine, adjusting the height to get the right temperature at the floor, and you might want to confine them in a smaller area for a bit until they all can get around well.

 

[azygous]

I've found that with the heating pad system, temperature is irrelevant. I set up a heating pad over a metal frame right outside in my run for my day-olds. They regulate their heat needs by going inside their heated "cave" when they need to warm up, and the rest of the time they run around the pen. Temperatures can be well below freezing and there are no worries about whether the chicks are warm enough. None.

See the thread on this forum, "Mama-heating pad in the brooder" for how to set it up.

 

[3riverschick]

Temperatures average 25 at night and 35 during the day and sometimes much colder than 25. My chicks will be in a building so wind will be off them but no heat. What should I do to keep them warm and healthy?

no hen to help you out? If not, you got a problem. Let me ask hellbender. maybe he has some ideas.

 

[3riverschick]

here ya go, try this BYC thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/119676/keeping-chicks-warm-with-no-power

http://tinyurl.com/ptfysw7
pages 90-92
-------------
http://tinyurl.com/ncfvc84
page 29
--------------
Winter Eggs: A Handbook on Utility Poultry Keeping, Embodying the American
Intensive Methods with Complete Index
By Edward Owen Wathen http://tinyurl.com/qgdzaly

 

[Blooie]

I've found that with the heating pad system, temperature is irrelevant. I set up a heating pad over a metal frame right outside in my run for my day-olds. They regulate their heat needs by going inside their heated "cave" when they need to warm up, and the rest of the time they run around the pen. Temperatures can be well below freezing and there are no worries about whether the chicks are warm enough. None.

See the thread on this forum, "Mama-heating pad in the brooder" for how to set it up.

The day this video was taken it was 21 degrees in the run, which is where their brooder pen was set up. Didn't lose a single chick, nor have a stressed or sick chick, out of the three batches raised this way. One night we even had 60 mph winds, sideways snow, and a power outage. They thrived. As @azygous said, they really do well even when it's not so warm out there!

 

[azygous]

If you're planning on brooding day-olds in your coop, and no broody hen, you need electricity to your coop or else you will need to brood them indoors where there is electricity. It's a basic fact that baby chicks require heat wherever you put them.

In olden days, farmers created brooders out of sheet metal and kerosene heat. Where there's a will, there's a way. A long extension cord would be far simpler, though, if your coop isn't wired for electricity.

I know I'm stating the obvious, but OP doesn't mention any coop with electricity.

 

[Blooie]

If you're planning on brooding day-olds in your coop, and no broody hen, you need electricity to your coop or else you will need to brood them indoors where there is electricity. It's a basic fact that baby chicks require heat wherever you put them.

In olden days, farmers created brooders out of sheet metal and kerosene heat. Where there's a will, there's a way. A long extension cord would be far simpler, though, if your coop isn't wired for electricity.

I know I'm stating the obvious, but OP doesn't mention any coop with electricity.

Shoot, you're right! I didn't even notice that. Nice catch! How about it, @BigHead Electricity available in your coop/run area? Knowing that would help us help you better. You can do the Mama Heating Pad method in the house too.