Reasons for Tossing Out Your Indoor Brooder and Start Raising Your Chicks Outdoors

This is a wonderfully written article full of logical explanations and fantastic suggestions on how to make this work! Awesome job! Now I only wish I could bring myself to let my babies out of my sight long enough to give it a try!

We are doing this. Our 7 week old chicks are starting to want to roost with the big chickens and this has been a much better experience than indoor brooding in most ways. They didn't have any issues with temps in the teens under their brooder plate and are all doing quite well. We will never do it any other way! Thank you!!

Spectacular article. You've made a believer out of me. I will have to do some thinking asked to how to apply this method here in Arizona where it is hot hot hot by the time my chicks arrive, but I think it can be managed.

Very Very Helpful

Fabulous and inspiring article! I love the concept of not terrifying the chicks with hands coming down from above.

One thing that might help for things like this (both for articles and comments) is for people to mention their average last frost date. That helps everyone put things in perspective, when talking about outdoor conditions and activities.

I have my very first batch of 32 chicks coming from Cackle Hatchery at the beginning of April (25 CX, 7 Dark Brahmas). My average last frost date in the northern Shenandoah Valley is April 22. With both a heat blanket brooder and a 250w heat lamp, I was going to raise them in the barn, inside a doubled cardboard "Chick Corral" (just a strip of cardboard). I'm going to experiment with it this weekend, but I might run an extension cord out to the coop, and see if I can maintain a stable temperature in there. If I can, the chicks will have a warm brooder that is open on one side, where they can venture out and see the world outside the coop (but still behind hardware cloth). They will also naturally explore the coop as they get bigger and the days get warmer. When they are really comfortable in the coop, I'll hook up the door, so they can go out.

In the meantime, the mess the chicks make will just be the start of the DLM in the coop.

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences!

Excelent writing, enjoyable yo read , beautiful photos, valuable learning tool.

I do not have chickens yet...I am still reading, learning, and making decisions about how I want to do things. This method just seems so "right". My background is in dogs....and I work very hard at getting pups out into the world on "field trips"....to expose them to tons of new places, people, sounds, underfootings, and experiences. I firmly believe this results in a calm, confident dog who takes new things in stride. So the ideas presented here make perfect sense! This is a much more natural way....and the benefits are obvious. I'm convinced and I thank you for this article....it has changed my thinking and my future chicks will benefit.

I've successfully raised and integrated two batches of chicks and can't thank you enough for giving me confidence! I've been referring this article to many new members and can't believe I haven't reviewed your article yet. This has been a life saver!

All makes sense really and kind of obvious once someone points it out
Taking what you've identified here and I will do what I can in my own rearing.
Thanks for sharing this knowledge.

It’s my first time with chicks and I felt like acclimating them to the coop sooner than later would be the right thing to do. Thank you for sharing your ideas and previous experiences.

Great article. My chicks are 7 weeks old, have been outside alongside the big chicken pen, and also inside part of coop alongside the big chickens. I moved them outside at 3 weeks, before that they were in a dog pen, a big one! Only in the box for a week. But really going to try no box, and table high pen next time. GREAT idea to raise tame birds! Thank you!!!!

So much "common" sense! Thanks for all the pics and information. Very valuable.

I've been embracing this concept since I read this! GOOD JOB!

These are great ideas, laid out well, with helpful pics too. Very good article!

I LOVE Everything about this article! Well written, packed with amazing and useful info. I’m brooding outdoors, too

I was already planning on trying this this year. You provided great photos and information to cement my plan.

Thank you.