Chicks this time of year? Can I?

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have raised chicks over the winter and it is a two- three month long project to keep them warm. I end up with a 100 watt bulb to keep them warm after the 6 week feathering in. I of course keep the brooder temps at the recommended 90-95 decreasing by 5 degrees per week until fully feathered.

They don't have the meat on their bones until 2-3 months old to stay warm like spring chicks. And I'd say closer to 3 months.

It is more work, as they will not come back into the brooder on their own when you open the door for them to get an airing and a walk when they are 3-4 weeks old. So they have to be babysat for the whole 15 minutes out in the cold and then put them back in til the next day, lol.

I have gone out to find month-old chicks huddling down on the ground about to freeze to death when I thought they could make their way back up the ramp to warmth when they got cold.

A shed setup is really the best, like in the picture above by ChickenCanoe. They can have lots of room and live inside until they can endure the cold.

 

[mikeinri]

I love the pictures. The box with the light inside is nice.

It kills me but I'm going to hold off on the chicks. Its the smart thing to do. I'm in the middle of putting up fencing and a couple of horse stalls and this would be another project.

This spring will be full forward with the ladies. More coop construction and fencing will be better management of my time right now.

What I have now will house 50 but I'm going big this spring.

 

[wbruder17]

I've got chicks right now and they are outside, in a little hutch with a run and a heat lamp. I modified the top to have screen and the rest of the coop is mostly solid except for the door to keep the heat in. They are also with a mama hen, who helps, bbut as long as their is not a draft, and you have the heat lamp, id say it would be ok....of course, we only really get into the low 30s upper 20s for the winter here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/59865_2011-11-25_21-28-09_979.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/59865_2011-11-27_20-39-30_577.jpg

 

[Cynthia12]

I have some with a mom, do have a light in for them or the night. I have a tarp over the front part of the door and screen, but open it according to what the day is like..and sometimes I don't. If it is snowing, I keep them covered. If it is a little windy I uncover just the top part in the day. If it's a wind free day, I open the whole front. The heat bulb is a red one, so it gets pretty warm in there. Have it closed at night here now.

I also have some older chicks in a nursery hutch. I pretty much do the same thing...only I don't have a red bulb, I have a 75 watt in theirs.

 

[montyhp]

In south texas, winter is the best time. It is much easier to keep them warm in the winter than it is to keep them cool in the summer. I should get my new chicks tomorrow.

Montyhp