Brooding chicks outside in winter

[Merrymouse]

This winter will be my 4th year raising chicks, my second year hatching chicks. When I first stared I had my brooder box in my study on the main floor of my house. Loved watching chick TV and basically got nothing done except watching chicks. It was great but the mess, the dust, the smell etc was not so great. I also kept my chicks inside for way too long. So by the third time I raised chicks I moved the huge brooder box to the basement. There was good and bad with this method. The good was less mess and still being able to see them often, although not as pleasant experience because my basement in winter is quite chilly. The bad was there was still dust and smell but now it was all over the junk in my basement. I moved these basement chicks outside way way earlier. Put them in a separate coop with a chick heat plate and they did fine. Also my coop is raised so when I went to visit them they could see my whole body and were less frightened of me. I wasn't just some disembodied hands reaching down from the sky to scoop them up. They turned out friendly and unafraid. They also have a window with hardware cloth that they could see, hear and smell my other chickens (my coops are back to back with a window dividing them.

So on to my question...I have been reading a bit about people brooding their chicks outside from the very beginning. Im considering doing this. I have identical side by side coops that have a door in between that can be opened or closed. Has anyone brooded their chickie babies from the very beginning outside even in the winter? I live in MA and it can often be in the teens overnight. I would start them in the coop with no run access with a heating plate and obviously food and water access. The coop is 8x4 and raised to about waist height. Has anyone done this sucessfully? My runs are also side by side and when I did move my chicks outside last year once they were more feathered out they had access to their own run but they could clearly see the other chickens. After a while I free ranged them together and then finally I just opened the door between the run and they integrated without too many issues. So I like the idea of starting the chicks outside from the get go for a couple of reasons.

1. Less mess
2. Chicks seem less afraid of me by seeing me as a person and not just hands coming from the sky to scoop me up
3. They feather out faster being in the cold
4. They boost their immunity being in an environment that isnt so sterile.
5 They integrate easier because they are used to the sounds, smell and look of other chickens. They can watch and learn from the other chickens.

Does anyone have anything to add that maybe I overlooked?
Has anyone done this successfully in New England? or other cold climate?

Also I plan on hatching maybe Anconas, Hedemoras, Swedish Flowers and maybe cream legbars and marans.

If you made it all the way through this long winded post thank you and I appreciate any feedback you experts can offer

 

[azygous]

You've got it pretty much covered. I brood in my enclosed run but not until the days are getting into the 50s and 60s and the nights aren't diving below the low 30s. (Early April) I figure any colder than that, the chicks would be spending way too much time under their heat source, which is the heating pad system.

Problems I've encountered brooding in late winter, early spring are grid power failures in the middle of the night which required extra measures to provide heat to my chicks. Also, at sub-freezing temps, I need to place several layers of wool blanket over the heating pad so all the heat doesn't get sucked away from the chicks.

Other than that, the babies, even day-olds, don't appear to mind it being very chilly and spend more time running around playing and being active than they do huddled under the heat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is my brooder in the coop. It's elevated with a wire floor so poop falls through. I always block the bottom off with plastic to keep hens from hiding a nest among the bins down there to catch the poop and stop any breezes from underneath. In summer the rest is pretty wide open. This set-up is for spring, the plastic is just high enough to make sure there are no breezes hitting them at floor level. In winter I put plywood on the wire floor to retain heat and wrap the whole thing in plastic. That "chimney" on the left with the heat lamp allows me to raise and lower the heat lamp and provided good ventilation up high even when the whole thing is wrapped. The top is my droppings board.

I put chicks in here straight from the incubator when the outside temperature is below freezing when I was in Arkansas. I find that chicks even that young are good about regulating their heat as long as they have a choice. I use a heat lamp and keep that end toasty, but some days there is frost or ice on the far end. The first two or three days they spend a lot of time under the heat but eventually they start exploring some. Not always a lot when it is really cold.

Not sure how you plan to handle water. In winter my waterer is in the warm area so it doesn't freeze. A heating plate or heating pad can work great at keeping chicks warm, but my heat lamps help with that. In winter I strap a second heat lamp on that end in case a bulb blows.

To me the biggest problem brooding outside is the temperature swings. I've had it go from the 20's to the 70's in 36 hours. You need an area warm enough in the coldest temperatures but an area cool enough in the warmest. You should be able to do that relatively easy with a heat plate. I need size and ventilation to do that.

I agree that exposing them to their environment at an early age strengthens their immune system. Whether you raise them outside or in, I'd suggest giving them dirt from the run where the adults are after a couple of days in the brooder to get them started on flock immunities they may need, introduce any probiotics the adults might have, and to get grit in their system.

Your set-up is different to mine. It helps with integration if they can see each other. Most times I just open the brooder door at 5 weeks and walk away. That's how hard it is. You may need to do a little more than that since they won't be looking at each other from the start.

I don't see any flaws in your plan, just figure out how you will handle water.

 

[ThatTeowonna]

Just wondering how this worked out. I have chicks coming in a week or so. I want to start outside in a coop/run. I’m in SC but it’s been in the 30s at night. Any advice? I really don’t want chicks in my house.