Chicks in the coop......

[ch1ckenmama]

This is our second year with chicks. Our first chicks we raised inside the house. Now we have a nice coop and our first chickens from last year are doing great! My question is, can we put the brooder outside in the coop with the red lights? Its going to be a low of 30's outside but with the lights, would it be warm enough for them?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I brood mine outdoor. I use heating pads rather than lights to not have the fire risks. I keep the pad on medium even with below freezing nights and they are fine.

 

[ch1ckenmama]

@SunhwaKwon
Just a regular heating pad? Or are there ones special for chicks? Also, do you have to put something over it? There bedding or something or just lay it in there? Sorry for all the questions...Lol! My husband would prefer them outside( less mess) I just wanna make sure they will be ok out there first. We have 5 hens, I dont think they will bug the brooder. They are sweethearts.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I prefer to brood outside too! The downside is less interaction opportunities, especially when it is cold, but they acclimate and integrate faster and of course the mess stays outside too. Look at the mama heating pad thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ooder-picture-heavy-update/8820#post_18178624 It's a very long thread, I know, but you can glance at pictures to see how they have set them up. The easiest way is a regular heating pad that doesn't have the auto off function, strapped to a frame made out of hardwire or whatever you have laying around. On the page that that link goes to you will see pics of how I just "upgraded/fancified" mine using a cookie cooling sheet, some mini bungee straps, and a few pieces of hardware. You can also see the heating pads that I use, which are about $13 at Walmart.

 

[ch1ckenmama]

@SunhawKwon
Thank you SO much for the information. I think Ill get them set up to go out to the coop this weekend. They are just so messy but I love them so much! Crazy how fast they grow!

 

[Ridgerunner]

In addition to not having the auto off, you also want your heating pad to come back on by itself after a power outage.

I also brood outside in the coop. It’s a great way for me to avoid getting hit with divorce papers which would be a real possibility if I tried to brood in the house.

I use a heat lamp but I have nothing against the heating pad method or others. Many different things work. If you use a heat lamp, throw that clamp away and firmly wire the lamp in place so it can’t be knocked down by you or the chickens.

The biggest challenge to brooding outside for me is the change in temperatures. Earlier this year I went from 18F one morning to 81F two afternoons later. What you need is a place warm enough in the coolest temperatures and cool enough in the warmest temperatures. My brooder is 3’ x 6’ with great ventilation up high. In the summer it’s open wire, in winter I wrap it with plastic to keep heat in. I’ll include a photo of a warm weather set-up. That plastic is there as a wind break, it’s not to keep the heat in. In winter it is totally wrapped.

In the coldest temperatures I have two heat lamps on that one end. In warmer weather I only use one and use different wattage bulbs to adjust for temperature. It doesn’t matter what the outside temperature is, it only matters that you have one spot warm enough and another cool enough. I find straight from the incubator or the post office they are great at self-regulating temperature if given a choice.