great article cant wait to try this! should i put the day old chicks out there immediately, or wait till theyre around two weeks? or do i have to wait until theyre feathered? thanks!
Yes, You Certainly Can Brood Chicks Outdoors
- Author Blooie
- Publish date
- Updated
- Article read time 15 min read
Blooie
Thanks!! I’m glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the article! I don’t have electricity out in my coop yet so I need to keep them in a brooder in the house for now but will implement your ideas soon. ?? This past winter it only got down to mid teens a couple nights and now it’s consistently in between 40’s and 60’s (Northern Alabama). With those temps, do I need to worry about a MHP now if I was to take them out to the coop? We bought 4 pullets on Fri but not sure of the age. Estimating 2 weeks or so...still tiny and fluffy ?
Attachments
Blooie
I’m sorry I didn’t see this before now and hope I’m not too late with a response. If your chicks have had a heat lamp for two weeks (regardless of whether in your home or the supplier, or the combination) I’m not sure they could deal with a switch at this time. As for putting them out without any heat source, since you don’t have power out there yet, I wouldn’t until you’ve been able to completely and gradually wean them off heat. That can take a few days...even a week or more. They have to acclimate to cooler temps and they have to get used to darkness at sunset. They’ll throw a royal chickie temper tantrum, especially when it gets dark, so you’ll have to pour a glass of wine while they have their whine. And they’ll huddle. They do that more for security than warmth, although it provides both. They don’t like change and suddenly the only constant they’ll have is each other. I hope I’ve answered your questions. I did it with my first batch - evicted their little hineys even though it was still cold, but mine were 5.5 weeks old and getting nicely feathered. I’d hesitate to advise it at 2 weeks. I got lucky but I’d never do it that way again, nor would I advise anyone else to. Starting them off outside is far less stressful on them and on me than giving them that much time to get used to one thing then yanking it away.
I'm a strong believer in natural animal husbandry and even before I found your method I just knew there was something wrong with using a heat lamp. I felt so terrible about it I made a crude (MHP) version using a shallow cardboard box and a heating pad for my very first chicks to use at night because I just couldn't bear the light glaring on them all night. It was a hassle switching it out every day but I didn't know better then. It wasn't until after those chicks were grown that I actually discovered MHP hiding behind "normal" advice here on BYC and I jumped for joy! I wasn't wrong, woot!
This method is actually more normal and natural than that old-fashioned-heat-lamp-garbage, so thank you so much for putting your experience out there! I've now successfully raised and integrated two more small batches of chicks using all your advice and common sense and also refer your articles and threads to new members whenever I can.
I even built my new coop with a built-in brooder and their own run to make integration easier. Using ideas from you (and others) I made my own portal system and switch from HWC to that at about 3-4 weeks... I call it my Picket Fence Safety Divider. I've also brought the chicks out often to free range with the older girls with never an incident. Your ideas have greatly increased my own confidence in chicken keeping. Thank you so much!
This method is actually more normal and natural than that old-fashioned-heat-lamp-garbage, so thank you so much for putting your experience out there! I've now successfully raised and integrated two more small batches of chicks using all your advice and common sense and also refer your articles and threads to new members whenever I can.
I even built my new coop with a built-in brooder and their own run to make integration easier. Using ideas from you (and others) I made my own portal system and switch from HWC to that at about 3-4 weeks... I call it my Picket Fence Safety Divider. I've also brought the chicks out often to free range with the older girls with never an incident. Your ideas have greatly increased my own confidence in chicken keeping. Thank you so much!
Blooie
Another comment I didn’t see. I’m falling down on the job here! That setup looks amazing!!! Congratulations and I’m so glad you found us!
I've been brooding outside and just going at it trial and error...mind you i live in north Florida so it's a bit easier. Everyone is always asking how i get them to all be together and get along..finally an answer! There are great ideas in here and i can't wait to try them. Thank you for posting this!
Attachments
Blooie
You are so welcome! Mine thrive even in temps in the teens and twenties, so your Florida climate should present no heat issues as far as keeping chicks warm.
Blooie
I'm glad that you found it helpful! It's a whole new world when you can raise them outdoors and not have to turn a room in your home into a mini-coop! LOL
Blooie
You CAN do this...I ain't the brightest crayon in the box and it has always worked for me! If you have any questions or problems, there is a Mama Heating Pad thread and lots of people there to help. I am traveling extensively this year, so I'm not on BYC as much as I used to be.
This was a great article, I have wanted to brood outside for a long time and this gave me piece of mind. I always felt that it was the most natural way outside of the hen,I use brooder boards opposed to the heating pads method but it the same principle. Thank you for this
Attachments
Blooie
It is a GIANT leap of faith, isn't it? But I figure, if a two pound hen can do it without experts, charts, web sites, books and heat lamps, why do we do it so differently and think we're doing it better? Your setup looks like it's working very well for you!
Blooie
Thanks. It's worked beautifully for 8 batches of my chicks, and for many other people as well.
Yep, I’ve hatched eggs here when early springtime temps are still dropping into the teens and twenties. That happens despite much of the the rest of the country enjoying more acceptable “chick season temps”. We can - and have - had snow here in June. All chicks get a couple of days indoors under Mama Heating Pad and then out they go. I want to make sure they are eating, drinking, and know how to use Mama Heating Pad to warm up. I don’t handle raising home-hatched chicks any differently than feed store or shipped chicks. Once the chicks are using Mama Heating Pad and aren’t showing shipping or hatching stress I put them outside under the outdoor Mama Heating Pad, set up and warmed and waiting for them in the outside brooder. Since they use it indoors, they automatically find it and transition right to it in the new setup. Sometimes I have to show them where it is when they first go out by tucking them under it hand holding my hand in front of it, but that only takes once. Even more remarkable, the chicks I hatched out here at home were Silkies - supposedly so delicate anyway
My friend @Ridgerunner raises all of his chicks outdoors from the start as well but he uses a heat lamp setup. It’s worked beautifully for him for years. He was raising incubator hatched chicks outdoors well before I was, with great success, so that’s another avenue you might explore. He has a lot of posts showing his setup.
Nobody puts chicks wet from hatching out there (except non-calendar-reading broodie hens) so once hatched they would spend at least a few days in an indoor brooder. You’d want to keep an eye on them for any hatching stress or issues anyway.
I hope this answers your questions.