Chicks this time of year? Can I?

[mikeinri]

There is a farm selling chicks very close to me. (Within 50 minutes) I want to get them my concern is leaving them out in the coop/shed with the others with the cold weather. They will have their own area.

Is this just a bad time to get them?

I could cover them and use a light.

How carefull do I have to be?

Can they go out if it is only in the 40s?

Do I need some heat with it dipping down into the mid 20s at night?

They are just about off the heatlamp.

 

[SteveBaz]

Mike,

Great question. Most folks give into what they want and without a lot of thought just give into the want and do it. Me personally I am going to get new chickies but I will wait until the spring time. Reason is they will be able to go outside in a outside brooder sooner without all the winter issues to deal with. Not much rain, snow and frigid winds to hurt the kids. In the spring you have a better survival rate not that you have a lesser one in the winter but you have to work harder at it fighting the weather.

 

[mikeinri]

Yes, I don't want to let them out in the cold with out knowing.

I have all the tools. A covered cage, heattape for the bottom, heatlight for the top and a comforter for a cover to keep everything warm.

Would 40 degrees be too cold durring the day for them? (I'm home in the day to care for them)

You are right. It was real easy when I got 12 this spring and it was 85 out. All I had to do was cover them and give them a light.

 

[partsRheavy]

Is there any way you could start them out for 2 or 3 weeks in the house?

 

[franklinstreetwest]

New chicks need to be kept at 90 - 95 degrees day and night. In the summer, you can often get away with lowering the temps at a graduated rate and then just let nature take it's course once they feather out. But you are trying to do a spring/summer project in winter. Which is perfectly fine, but you are probably going to need to provide more heat and for a longer period of time to keep your chicks alive and healthy.

I have chicks that are just hatching here in Michigan. I plan to move them to my basement where it stays 50 degrees....I will raise them there until they are feathered out well enough to join the flock safely. I would keep them in the garage, but I don't want to worry about regulating the brooder temp during the night in the bitter cold.

 

[mikeinri]

Quote:
I had not considered the cellar. I have a very big cellar and it would be easier to control a 40 degree cellar then a coop with an open door. I already have a 6x10 area that has an insulated floor.

Do you have them under daylight fluorescent bulbs with heat lamps to maintain the temp I would assume.

 

[franklinstreetwest]

I have two of those silver hooded clip-on lamps, each has a 100 watt old fashioned incandescent bulb. I have those suspended at different heights...so the chicks get different regions of heat. I also have a big fluffy ostrich feather duster hung in a corner just a little off the ground. It is kinda like their "momma". Gives them a place to hide, and a way to get out of drafts. With the incandesent (or any heat source) be cautious to keep feathers, dust, and bedding from getting on it or accumulating on it. Also remember that light bulbs that are in a cold enviornment will explode if they get water dripped on them. I was cleaning once, and I wasn't being careful with the water dish....dripped right on the hot bulb in the cold basement with cold water and POP. The light wasn't near the chicks thank goodness.

I would definately use a heating element that gets warmer than the low watt compact flouerescent though! There are even ceramic bulbs that don't light up, they are made for heating. I don't think they explode like glass bulbs either, but haven't tested this theory.
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repticare-Ceramic-Infrared/dp/B0002AQCPU

I'm to cheap to spring for a couple of those instead of incandescents though.

Also, when you hang your heat source in the box....get out a thermometer and set it on the floor under the heat. Adjust the distance that the heater is from the floor so that the thermometer reads about 95 degrees. You probably want one region on the warmer side...it's gonna be SUPER cold everywhere there isn't a heat lamp, unless your box is enclosed completely. And then still watch your heat with great care. You don't want to "easy-bake oven" your chicks either. Just use common sense and your babies will do great!

 

[franklinstreetwest]

I only have 6 bantam chicks this round. Adjust the quantity of heating elements and space to keep them in based on your number of chicks.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't brood in a box of any kind so they don't get too hot.
Here's a couple options depending on how many and their size.

 

[franklinstreetwest]

Great pictures!