Brooding: Inside or Outside?

[WhoDatChick]

I brood outdoors in the coop because it allows me to most closely mimic natural brooding, integrate chicks beginning at 3 weeks and keeps the mess out of my house. My chicks are happy, healthy and learn how to chicken from other chickens.

So you put three week old chicks in the coop/run with the big gals?? How do they stay warm? Or do you put the brooder in there?

 

[50-45-1]

OK, so im like a kid with new toys on christmas morning when i order or hatch new chicks. I like to watch and check on them constantly. Make sure im not getting any sleepy heads or weak ones who need special care or help.
After 2 weeks i am usually ready to put them out on the coop with the other chickens. the smell and dust will be getting troublesome by then. Usually they have good wing feathering then. I have a ground hutch i use that accepts the heat lamp. And wire section that lets everybody get aquainted safely at first. Later I will prop up one end of the hutch up so they can venture out and dart back in if the big chickens get rough. Works great and i have realy seamless introduction to the flock with this program.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So you put three week old chicks in the coop/run with the big gals?? How do they stay warm? Or do you put the brooder in there?

I brood using the mama heat pad for warmth. Chicks self wean from the heat and by three weeks arent using the heat, but view it as a comfort source, hanging out on top of it...it is removed at 4 weeks Chicks start in an area of the coop sectioned off by a wire panel. They see adults and adults see them from day one. At three weeks, a small door in the panel is opened, chicks fit/ adults don't. Chicks can go in and out, escaping to "safety" if they feel overwhelmed.
At this point the hens are accustomed to their presence, like they would be if one of them had hatched and 4aised them in the flock. Cursory pecks happen, ie when chicks forget their place in things, but hens mostly ignore them. By four weeks the panel 8s removed, the brooder space is once again just part of the coop and chicks are just part of the flock.
These threads and articles talk about the method(s)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rt-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/?page=2

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...er-picture-heavy-update.956958/#post-14882145

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/integrating-chicks-into-flock-at-4-weeks-old.1159151/

This shows the complete disinterest the hens have in chicks when integration us occurring

And the interaction between a hen and a chick who is instigating trouble

 

[WhoDatChick]

I brood using the mama heat pad for warmth. Chicks self wean from the heat and by three weeks arent using the heat, but view it as a comfort source, hanging out on top of it...it is removed at 4 weeks Chicks start in an area of the coop sectioned off by a wire panel. They see adults and adults see them from day one. At three weeks, a small door in the panel is opened, chicks fit/ adults don't. Chicks can go in and out, escaping to "safety" if they feel overwhelmed.
At this point the hens are accustomed to their presence, like they would be if one of them had hatched and 4aised them in the flock. Cursory pecks happen, ie when chicks forget their place in things, but hens mostly ignore them. By four weeks the panel 8s removed, the brooder space is once again just part of the coop and chicks are just part of the flock.
These threads and articles talk about the method(s)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rt-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/?page=2

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...er-picture-heavy-update.956958/#post-14882145

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/integrating-chicks-into-flock-at-4-weeks-old.1159151/

This shows the complete disinterest the hens have in chicks when integration us occurring

And the interaction between a hen and a chick who is instigating trouble

Wow... that’s great! Thanks!
So if I put the brooder in the run.. I think I’ll need the heat lamp as it’s a bit chilly at night...
They are just over two weeks old now.. I’ve been keeping inside.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Wow... that’s great! Thanks!
So if I put the brooder in the run.. I think I’ll need the heat lamp as it’s a bit chilly at night...
They are just over two weeks old now.. I’ve been keeping inside.

You will need heat of some form, yes. I, personally, will not use heat lamps in the coop and prefer nonlight based heat for chicks anyway....but uf you prefer a heat lamp that is what you should use.

 

[blackdog043]

I keep them in my garage up to a week, depending on when I get them. This is just easier for me to keep an eye on them, the first few days. This year I got most of them last Saturday, so yesterday I moved them to the coop brooder.

You won't have all the dust/ dander/smell, in your garage or house. I use the mama heat pad, so from day one they get used to day and night. If you have an older flock already, brooding next to them like this, makes integration so much easier. Last year I integrated at four weeks and it went well. I'm gonna try 3 weeks this year and see how it goes. I'll have panic doors on the 2 crate doors, for the chicks to get back into the brooder and keep the big girls out. I made my brooder set up a little bigger this year, I have 11 chicks in there.

A no waste feeder sits on the cinder block, I took it off for the picture. I put the horizontal nipple waterer in the brooder today also, along with the chick waterer for now.

The DIY no waste chick feeder with the PVC tube is awesome, hardly any feed gets billed out. Fermented feeder is hanging.

 

[Alexandra33]

I could never brood my fluff butts outdoors....that would mean missing out on extra socialization time. (yes, I'm aware it's not terribly difficult to visit them outside, but from the standpoint of convenience?) Nothing puts a price tag on the ability to hear them peeping a room away, and sometimes allow some to keep me company at the computer, or even join us for Bible study. Precious bonding moments. Sure, poop happens, but I'm not afraid of it.

Not to mention, my cats and parakeets get the biggest kick out of fuzzy babies. Pretty confident their lives wouldn't be the same without chicks to "raise."

~Alex

 

[Blooie]

Personally I will never, ever brood inside the house again, and haven’t for years. My chicks are still well-socialized, simply because they learn to be chickens from watching the adults and since the adults aren’t afraid of us or skittish, neither are the chicks. I’ve raised 8 batches out there, and those were later on the adults that subsequent batches of chicks were raised around.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors.68067/

 

[Farmer Doc]

We only brood outside. In fact, there are 26 little friends out there right now!

Brooder is in the pasture. Half screen, half clear solid wall. Open to the east so no weather come in. Screened half let's everyone socialize and watch the big chickens. MHP keeps everyone warm and cozy. (This last week lows have been in the upper 20s/lower 30s.) All our chicks go outside on day one and are checked regularly by everyone in the family. ACV in the water keeps away pasty butt issues. Chicks are robust and still so much fun!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I could never brood my fluff butts outdoors....that would mean missing out on extra socialization time. (yes, I'm aware it's not terribly difficult to visit them outside, but from the standpoint of convenience?) Nothing puts a price tag on the ability to hear them peeping a room away

I personally enjoy peace and quiet, so not having them peeping away down the hallway is a bonus for me.

As far as socialization the chicks I raised outdoors ended up being friendlier overall than the ones I raised indoors. Part of that might be individual personalities but another part I think is the ease in interacting with them outside versus inside. Outside my brooder door opened from the side and they could see me from the side (whereas indoors I had to reach in from above and they could never see me from the side, as I used a bathtub) and because I had secure run space, I could just sit with them and let them explore the environment with me as part of it, which wasn't something I could do before when I had chicks in a bathroom since it didn't feel safe to have them running around in there.