Can you raise baby chicks in the coop?

PippinTheChicken

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Mar 19, 2021
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I'm about to make a new coop and I was wondering if I could use any spare space to brood chicks.
Obviously the brooder will be off limits to the hens, and I'll use a heat lamp.
Has anyone done this before?
 
A few questions...
  1. The UK is quite cold, will they be ok just with a MHP? Should I use a heat lamp as well for the 1st week?
  2. Do they stay inside the coop until a certain age? Or should they be outside everyday?
  3. How do you brood them? What kind of brooder do you use
 
Yes, absolutely! I started my chicks a week indoors first, and then moved them to a sectioned off part of the coop, separated by a screen door so the bigger pullets could see them. They even had their own little roost in there, about seven inches off the ground. I heat with a very safe oil-filled radiator heater, never lamps. They can get as close as they need to, sometimes even cuddling between the fins!
As long as they can stay warm, extra room to run around is always healthy. Often I would lock the bigger ones outside and allow the chicks to roam all over the entire coop. Gradually I nailed their door open just enough for a chick but not a pullet and allowed them to make daring forays into the midst of the big girls. They could scamper back to safety quickly. Eventually, they were integrated fully and I removed the dividing screen door until the next batch of chicks!
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I'm about to make a new coop and I was wondering if I could use any spare space to brood chicks.
Obviously the brooder will be off limits to the hens, and I'll use a heat lamp.
Has anyone done this before?


Here's an article I like, about someone who broods chicks in a section of their coop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
(I also like aart's article, but that's already been mentioned.)

A few questions...
  1. The UK is quite cold, will they be ok just with a MHP? Should I use a heat lamp as well for the 1st week?
What temperature is "quite cold"? (And please state whether you're using fahrenheit or celsius.)

I've brooded chicks in several different coop-type setting with a heat lamp. With a heat lamp, I'm sure they can be fine no matter what the outdoor temperature is. Just make sure the area directly under the lamp is the right temperature, and the rest is warm enough that water does not freeze, and then they can run back and forth as they please.

Chicks can be raised with a broody hen when nights drop below freezing (chicks stay warm under the hen at night) and days are somewhat above freezing (chicks pop out to eat, then go back under to stay warm. As they get older, they spend more time out from under the hen.)

I don't have any personal experience with a MHP, so you'll have to hear from someone who uses it.
 
First week indoors maybe 10 days.Never if weathers dropping below zero.I raised mine in an outside coop with ceramic lights and layered tarps over the coop to make it warmer when temps fell below 20 .The temperature in the corners of the coop was in the 40s and 50s's but under the light it was warm.I've never lost a chick.I would only recommend you try this with healthy chicks to begin with, a healthy breed too.
All breeds are not created equal.
 
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