Feather faster if I take away heat sooner?

[Lbrad7]

Quote:
I agree. I brood chicks outside and they are all pretty much feathered out by 4 weeks or so.

I have found this to be true as well and usually keep them a little cooler than recommeded but that being said, I think that those who are beginners would be better served to follow the rule of 95 for the first week and drop it by 5 degrees every week until they are feathered. Once you get a few broods under your belt, you can experiment with cooler brooding temps.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

I'm testing something out. I've put a warmer/brooder outside in an upside down storage tote (27 gal). There is a 5 week old chick and a 2 week old chick there. Last night it got down to the 50s and tonight it's going I to the high 40s. Honestly they've been doing great by the looks of it. I'll keep an eye out on the feathers and see if that makes a difference

 

[Evadig]

I'm testing something out. I've put a warmer/brooder outside in an upside down storage tote (27 gal). There is a 5 week old chick and a 2 week old chick there. Last night it got down to the 50s and tonight it's going I to the high 40s. Honestly they've been doing great by the looks of it. I'll keep an eye out on the feathers and see if that makes a difference

Hi and ! I just wanted to let you know this thread hasn’t been posted in since 2010. I don’t know, though, if a two week old chick should be out in those temperatures without a mom or a heat source?
@wrathsfarm (if you don’t mind me tagging you) could you come see please? Thanks !

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

Hi and ! I just wanted to let you know this thread hasn’t been posted in since 2010. I don’t know, though, if a two week old chick should be out in those temperatures without a mom or a heat source?
@wrathsfarm (if you don’t mind me tagging you) could you come see please? Thanks !

I put a new thread out with all the details

Thread 'Raising baby chicks with existing flock experiment' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/raising-baby-chicks-with-existing-flock-experiment.1608632/

 

[wrathsfarm]

I'm testing something out. I've put a warmer/brooder outside in an upside down storage tote (27 gal). There is a 5 week old chick and a 2 week old chick there. Last night it got down to the 50s and tonight it's going I to the high 40s. Honestly they've been doing great by the looks of it. I'll keep an eye out on the feathers and see if that makes a difference

Pics of your brooder setup? You made a brooder out of an upside down tote? When did you start acclimating them to the weather?

If you gradually dropped their heat source weekly the 5 week old should be feathered out enough but I would worry about the 2 week old. A sudden drop in body temp would cause a drastic chill in a chick not completely feathered.
Safety from predators in your setup would be a major concern also.

Hi and ! I just wanted to let you know this thread hasn’t been posted in since 2010. I don’t know, though, if a two week old chick should be out in those temperatures without a mom or a heat source?
@wrathsfarm (if you don’t mind me tagging you) could you come see please? Thanks !

Thank you for the tag. I agree with you.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Hi and ! I just wanted to let you know this thread hasn’t been posted in since 2010. I don’t know, though, if a two week old chick should be out in those temperatures without a mom or a heat source?
@wrathsfarm (if you don’t mind me tagging you) could you come see please? Thanks !

I caught another thread that shows a pic of the brooder setup. Looks decent and safe.. I would only worry about wind coming in at chick level. A wind block might help here...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/raising-baby-chicks-with-existing-flock-experiment.1608632/

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

I caught another thread that shows a pic of the brooder setup. Looks decent and safe.. I would only worry about wind coming in at chick level. A wind block might help here...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/raising-baby-chicks-with-existing-flock-experiment.1608632/

Thanks for the suggestion the opening in the box is facing the house which is about 20ft away so it prevents any gusts from blowing straight into the chicks. That wasn't something planned it just ended up working out.

The chicks were hardened to the cold indoors on accident my house was 65-67 degrees at night for a few nights before they went out, they've always had access to their little brooder of course. But that probably helped, glad you pointed that out.