Brooding outside

[Blooie]

I raised all but my very first batch outside in a wire pen inside the run. Temps? Well, here in northwestern Wyoming our "chick season" is still in the twenties dropping into the teens from time to time, with sideways blowing snow and winds up to (and sometimes over) 60mph. No losses, no issues, and at 3 weeks old they were being weaned off all heat. By the end of the 4th week Mama Heating Pad and the entire brooder came out.

My point isn't that everyone should do this - so much depends on each person's own personal comfort zone. My point is that with your temps, I believe they will be absolutely fine. @lazy gardener and @aart have nailed it. And glad you are liking it as well, @Ahavati .

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can't measure temp under an MHP like you can under a heat lamp,
MHP works by direct contact.

Thanks for correcting me, I'm still figuring out how I want to brood my next batch and assumed the heating pad simply warmed the ambient air under it. Learn something new everyday!

 

[moniquem]

Thanks for all your help, here the answers to some questions:

What are the dimensions of this tote?
Is your porch enclosed?

Tote measures 42.70 x 24.40 x 18.00 Inches porch is enclosed

BTW, I do hope you mean hardware cloth over the top of the tote, if your porch IS NOT predator proof.

Totally meant hardware cloth

Thanks for all the great advice for this newbie!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

This was taken about two weeks ago(ignore the upload date showing today)....in my unheated coop. It was 27 degrees outside and the babies were 5 days old.

Happy, healthy and completely unphased babies with their mhp

 

[Blooie]

Second time I’ve seen this and it still tickles me!

 

[aart]

Tote measures 42.70 x 24.40 x 18.00 Inches porch is enclosed

Great that the porch is enclosed, preds and drafts are probably the biggest risks.
That tote won't hold 5 chicks, and their feed and water, for long tho - maybe a few weeks.
Is your coop close to being ready?

 

[moniquem]

Great that the porch is enclosed, preds and drafts are probably the biggest risks.
That tote won't hold 5 chicks, and their feed and water, for long tho - maybe a few weeks.
Is your coop close to being ready?

Your funny! Of course not, I'll be laying foundation this weekend. I'm using the plans I've attached, looks easy . I'll add more vents at top and windows for the little fluff butts

 

[lazy gardener]

This was taken about two weeks ago(ignore the upload date showing today)....in my unheated coop. It was 27 degrees outside and the babies were 5 days old.

Happy, healthy and completely unphased babies with their mhp

I love, love, love that post and video. You get all of my "excellent post of the day" points. Be sure to put them somewhere safe.

@moniquem , if you can bypass the tote, and go straight to an appliance box, it will buy you all the time you need to get them through their entire brooding period. They will be much happier b/c they will have plenty of room to flit around and do chickie things. You will save the cost of the tote, the time fitting it with a HWC cover, and it will be the ultimate recycle. Haul it out the door, along with the shavings, and recycle it and the shavings in your garden paths. BTW, when I brood chicks, I hang the waterer, so there are no issues with spilled water. And I simply top off the shavings every couple of days. No need to clean the shavings out. Studies show that chicks reared in this fashion actually have better feed conversion, improved viability. Subsequent broods of chicks reared on that old bedding do even better!

Most important product for raising chicks: Poultry Nutri Drench. My chicks get it during the first 2 weeks, in their water. About 1 tsp/qt. First daily, then decreasing frequency. Most important product for raising chicks: (no, this is not an oversight. Both are MOST important) a plug of sod from an untreated lawn plopped upside down in the brooder shortly after you find that they are doing a good job finding and eating their feed and filling their crops.

 

[Ahavati]

I raised all but my very first batch outside in a wire pen inside the run. Temps? Well, here in northwestern Wyoming our "chick season" is still in the twenties dropping into the teens from time to time, with sideways blowing snow and winds up to (and sometimes over) 60mph. No losses, no issues, and at 3 weeks old they were being weaned off all heat. By the end of the 4th week Mama Heating Pad and the entire brooder came out.

My point isn't that everyone should do this - so much depends on each person's own personal comfort zone. My point is that with your temps, I believe they will be absolutely fine. @lazy gardener and @aart have nailed it. And glad you are liking it as well, @Ahavati .

I love it so much! This is our 4th batch of chicks using MHP as well as brooding a couple batches of quail chicks with it. It is my most favorite way now! We actually took the MHP out last week from our 3 weekers because they didn't use it anymore. Then the past couple nights got in the mid 30s and they were perfectly fine! I'm so thankful for stumbling across your post way a year and a half ago!

 

[aart]

Your funny! Of course not, I'll be laying foundation this weekend.