Brooding Chicks in Summer -- What Should I Know?

[3KillerBs]

I have never brooded chicks. My in-town chickens were brooded by a friend who had the facilities and arrived at my coop 4-5 weeks old and ready for the outdoors.

I've read a number of chick-brooding articles, which seem to be focused on spring chicks, but the timing of our chicken acquisition looks like it will be in the next couple weeks. We've located a farm store that's getting chick deliveries through the end of June.

The intent is to brood them outside in the repaired Monitor Coop (thread here). DH is thoroughly familiar with electric work and able to provide a heat source safely. But I don't know what heat source to use in a situation where the low temperatures here in central NC can be expected to be in the upper-60's to low-70's and the highs can be expected to be in the 90's. Obviously, the risk will be cooking the little things, not chilling them.

We can't put them in as much *natural* deep shade as we'd like, but we'll be using tarps and/or shade cloth to create more shade, the coop is extremely well-ventilated, and there is always a good breeze coming up the hill so we'll turn the monitor broadside to that breeze.

I'll need to temporarily block off the corners as well as blocking off the nest boxes, right?

What else should I know about summertime brooding?

 

[Parront]

I am brooding chicks in my "She Shed". We have hot days like yours, then night temps in the 50's. You will want a way to adjust the heat that they get. People here like to use a heating pad. I use hanging brooder lamps with reptile heaters, they do not produce any light, just heat. I adjust the heat by raising or lowering the chain they hang from. I have plenty of room to do that in a shed. They are under the loft, ceiling height is about 6 feet. I have a fan plugged into a Thermo-cube so it comes on automatically @ 78*. With that roof ventilation, you might not need a fan. They just need a place to go and get warm, the food and water should be away from the heat. It was 91 yesterday, chicks were fine. I did not block any corners.

 

[3KillerBs]

I am brooding chicks in my "She Shed". We have hot days like yours, then night temps in the 50's. You will want a way to adjust the heat that they get. People here like to use a heating pad. I use hanging brooder lamps with reptile heaters, they do not produce any light, just heat. I adjust the heat by raising or lowering the chain they hang from. I have plenty of room to do that in a shed. They are under the loft, ceiling height is about 6 feet. I have a fan plugged into a Thermo-cube so it comes on automatically @ 78*. With that roof ventilation, you might not need a fan. They just need a place to go and get warm, the food and water should be away from the heat. It was 91 yesterday, chicks were fine. I did not block any corners.

Thank you.

By the time I get these chicks 91 will be a cool day and I won't see nights in the 50's until September.

 

[Parront]

Here are photos of my set up. Very basic, a swamp cooler box and hanging brooder heaters. Not exactly rocket science -- LOL

These are the heaters. It is not really in the photo with the chicks. The fan is over the door, the doors are open if it is hot and the fan exhausts the hot air. There is shade from a tree on the shed, but it got hot before we installed the fan.

 

[Parront]

Thank you.

By the time I get these chicks 91 will be a cool day and I won't see nights in the 50's until September.

LOL, yes, we will be over 100 some days, but since we are in the mountains and low humidity it almost always cools down at night. I lowered the heaters last night. I will be raising them soon, but we are retired & I like watching them. In a small space, the heating pad method seems the best, you can turn the dial to raise or lower the temp. I have a remote sensor in the brooder, when it got down to 70 in there -- not under the heat, by the food, I went out and lowered the heater, because you could see they were huddling under the heat. As they get older, they need to be cooler. You can tell by watching them. If they are far away from the heat, they are too hot. Jammed under it in a ball, too cold. Spread out like the photo I posted, just right. How many will you have?

 

[3KillerBs]

How many will you have?

The little coop, 4'x4', is sized for 4 adults, though I had 7 in it without incident when it included 24/7 access to a predator-hardened run. Since I know I will be moving it within 6 months, my hope is to get electric poultry net and thus they'll have to be cooped at night -- so no pushing the numbers in that situation.

Therefore, I intend to buy 6 if I can get sexed pullets, 8 if straight run -- planning on unanticipated roosters or possible losses.

Once the house is placed in August we will be able to work on a larger facility in order to expand the flock next year but we need our bug predators and weed destroyers. If all of them get to maturity before we can build the new, larger coop I'll either sell or eat some of them as seems appropriate.

 

[Parront]

The little coop, 4'x4', is sized for 4 adults, though I had 7 in it without incident when it included 24/7 access to a predator-hardened run. Since I know I will be moving it within 6 months my hope is to get electric poultry net and thus they'll have to be cooped at night so no pushing the numbers in that situation.

Therefore, I intend to buy 6 if I can get sexed pullets, 8 if straight run -- planning on unanticipated roosters or possible losses.

Once the house is placed in August we will be able to work on a larger facility in order to expand the flock next year but we need our bug predators and weed destroyers. If all of them get to maturity before we can build the new, larger coop I'll either sell or eat some of them as seems appropriate.

It is easier to sell pullets. 4 can do a good job clearing a yard or garden! I can not wait for these of mine to be large enough to go to work on all the grasshoppers here! Bye, gotta go check on them (Watch them playing).

 

[3KillerBs]

It is easier to sell pullets. 4 can do a good job clearing a yard or garden! I can not wait for these of mine to be large enough to go to work on all the grasshoppers here! Bye, gotta go check on them (Watch them playing).

Yes. Sell pullets to recoup costs. Eat cockerels.

 

[Parront]

I only want to keep a few of the ones I got. I ordered from Ideal hatchery, and if you do not get at least 25, they will fill the box up to that number with roosters. So I filled the box up with sex link pullets and dark layer mix. My neighbor wants 4-6, like you. The rest I have a person who wants them, whatever my neighbor & I do not keep. Much better than having 15 roosters/packing peanuts to dispose of. They are not easy to find someone who wants them, and work to process them. I like to eat home-grown chicken, just not the free ones they would send!

 

[3KillerBs]

I only want to keep a few of the ones I got. I ordered from Ideal hatchery, and if you do not get at least 25, they will fill the box up to that number with roosters.

My first chickens were from Ideal. IIRC, I ordered 8 and got 5 packing peanuts, "The Red Boys". Vinnie and his brothers made delicious chicken and rice about the time they were getting annoying.