Earliest time of year to brood broilers outside

[Captain Quark]

I am located in southern Ontario, Canada. Our last frost date is typically May 15th or so. Last year we started our broilers in an outdoor brooder pen with much success, but it was not until mid June. We would like to do two batches of birds this year, as I am happy to do 50 birds at a time in the space available. I am trying to determine what the earliest time of year would be, hopefully from people who have done it and had success, to brood day old chicks outside right away. My pick up dates available are April 27, May 11 or May 25 (and later). My set up is on fine straw in a fenced area, with two walls fully exposed and two walls with wind breaks. Inside I put in a raised veggie garden box that stops the drafts and contains the chicks, and we have brooder plates in there. It was great last year! Can we brood those babies out there earlier this year?

I had hoped to somehow have a couple weeks cross over between the batches - still trying to figure out a way to manage the space to make that work. If I can't do two weeks cross over, then I need to start the first batch early.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I live in Maine, and I like to get them April 1st if possible. So I'm typically getting them the first of April. I used to do some in the Spring and the rest in the Fall, but when butchering time came, I couldn't take the coldness, so I do Spring only now if I can.

Raise them on the heat lamp with lowering the temperature by 5° a week. Because they are fast growers, outdoor temps depending, I can sometimes get them off the heat lamp by two weeks. If you think your coop temps are too cold to remove the heat lamp, keep it on them. Also, my birds are using their body heat, which makes up for the heat lamp getting removed sooner. If the birds are living in tighter courters, that raises the body heat temperature a lot, thus helping eliminate the heat lamp sooner.

If you have any concerns on coop temps at any time, I like having a digital thermometer on the coop floor. This thermometer keeps track of both the coldest and hottest temperatures within the past few hours. That'll tell you if it's getting too cold so you need the heat lamp or if it's getting too hot for the heat lamp.

 

[iwltfum]

Also in maine with a may 15 last frost date. And generally on an early april timeframe as a start date of the broiler season too.

 

[Captain Quark]

Sorry for my ignorance on this - is there a risk of the water freezing over still if we put the chicks out in early April? I have my quails water heated, but it's raised up on a block with a bulb in there. Chicks will not be able to reach up that high for water - I don't have layers so I'm not familiar with keeping water unfrozen for babies (I only hatch quail out when it's warm or they are inside for three weeks).

How do I keep the water from freezing while they are small? I can't remember if that will even be an issue, but suspect it may.

Second thing I realize from looking at other threads - will they need an extra week to grow because it's colder? My birds last year were June to August and they were huge, fully feathered things at 8 weeks. One bird I didn't think would make it that long - she was over 10 lbs dressed at 8 weeks (and this is with scheduled feeding, organic fermented feed, fully free ranging during the day, which I thought would make them grow a bit slower). Average weight was 7.9 lbs dressed.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Sorry for my ignorance on this - is there a risk of the water freezing over still if we put the chicks out in early April? I have my quails water heated, but it's raised up on a block with a bulb in there. Chicks will not be able to reach up that high for water - I don't have layers so I'm not familiar with keeping water unfrozen for babies (I only hatch quail out when it's warm or they are inside for three weeks).

How do I keep the water from freezing while they are small? I can't remember if that will even be an issue, but suspect it may.

Second thing I realize from looking at other threads - will they need an extra week to grow because it's colder? My birds last year were June to August and they were huge, fully feathered things at 8 weeks. One bird I didn't think would make it that long - she was over 10 lbs dressed at 8 weeks (and this is with scheduled feeding, organic fermented feed, fully free ranging during the day, which I thought would make them grow a bit slower). Average weight was 7.9 lbs dressed.

If your waterer is freezing, then it's too cold for your chicks. You keep the waterer in the heat lamp's heated area with the chicks. (Along with the food.) If it's too far away and too cold, the chicks will not go to the waterer to get a drink. Again, have a thermometer on the floor to take the temperature of the coop. (Try not to place it directly under the heat lamp beam, but to the side a little for accurate readings.)

I raise my birds to eight weeks every year. I'm also raising the Cornish Crosses, which I'm assuming you're raising too? Some go six weeks, but I pefer a bigger bird, so I go eight weeks.

For feeding, I put a tray or crockpot of food directly on the floor, and multiple of them over the floor when the birds are getting bigger. More feeding stations help the birds get bigger, and the feeders on the floor also helpful. It's too much work for them to stand to eat, so the feeders on the floor give them the opportunity to sit in the feeder, and just eat all day. True, this does take a slightly extra effort on you: cleaning poop out of feeders and occasionally switching a fatter bird with a smaller bird in the feeder. But it worked great to get my big birds.

 

[Pullety]

We’re brooding meat chicks outside right now starting March 29 as day olds. Every night has been below freezing. We use the premier heat panel and I have quail waterers on a small animal heat pad. Lost one the first night, little guy was out of the heat panel. Then I put an LED light out for them at night and so far so good since then

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

We’re brooding meat chicks outside right now starting March 29 as day olds. Every night has been below freezing. We use the premier heat panel and I have quail waterers on a small animal heat pad. Lost one the first night, little guy was out of the heat panel. Then I put an LED light out for them at night and so far so good since then

What heat panel do you have?

 

[Pullety]

What heat panel do you have?

 

[Pullety]

Premier 50 chick. I read somewhere on here that premier is the most reliable heat panel for outdoor use.

 

[iwltfum]

It is possible to brood chicks in temperatures that are lower than ideal, but beware that potential growth can be stunted by stress early on in life. They may be surviving and not look bad, but I have seen chicks brooded in cold temps not reach butchering weight in the proper amount of weeks. That situation caused me to feed out twice as much feed as I normally would to get them to the weight I wanted. Feed being 75% of my cost, it was a huge increase in cost. This year, with feed being 150% of what I paid for it last season, those prices can add up quickly and you could easily end up with $25-40 chickens.