Brooding chicks outside

I just moved my 2 week old chicks out to the coop with a heat source and they are doing great. As long as you don't have drafts and there is plenty of bedding for them to snuggle into they should be fine. I have 8 chicks and they are snuggling together in pairs throughout the coop not right under the heat lamp so I can tell they are comfortable. They already have feathers on their wings and a few on their backs so I think this will just make them feather out even quicker. Good luck!

 

I'm in IL and it is still cold. I moved the chicks I got Feb. 6th out to the chicken house last night and they are doing fine. It's 95 degrees directly under the light and they did move directly under the light when I first moved them, but now they are all over the place. Even in the basement, inside of a very warm brooder all of them liked to sleep together, all snuggled in a circle. When they are up and moving they are all over the place. They don't stay under the light. I will NOT put day old chicks in my basement ever again! They stink! They are cute, but they stink! If they can survive the US Post Office they can survive a cozy heated brooding area in a chicken house. I've done everything possible to make it predator proof, so now I'm going to put it to the test

 

My chicks have survived an awful wind storm (temps were about 13°) and Sunday we got 5" of snow! They've been in their outside hutch since they were a week old, they're about 3 weeks old now and have all of their feathers except on their heads. I'll never brood chicks inside my house again.....

 

I'm ready for my kids to head outside - because of my roommate situation I have to brood in my bedroom, but I have to wait until they're ~4wks before I can move them outside. T-2 weeks, LOL

I've never had a problem with the stink. I think it has a lot to do with food - some feeds make more stinky poops than others - and keeping the whole setup dry.