Having out of brooder

[chickennewb-E]

my five-year-old son has decided to become a backyard chicken farmer. We got him Three chicks yesterday from the hatchery. He would like to take them out of the brooder at times to snuggle them and watch a show with them or something. How long can a check be out before they get too cold? Can I just let him hold a little chick in his lap for a while while he watches some silly show? And yes, I know he hast to be very gentle and I help him.

 

[nuthatched]

How warm is it in your house? Chicks usually need about 90-95 degrees, they can be out for a few minutes (5-10 but 10's a bit long) but probably not the length of a show.
Did you get sexed chicks or straight run? You must have a mature 5 year old to be willing to get livestock for him but I believe responsibility it good for kids, so hopefully it will end well.

 

[chickennewb-E]

How warm is it in your house? Chicks usually need about 90-95 degrees, they can be out for a few minutes (5-10 but 10's a bit long) but probably not the length of a show.
Did you get sexed chicks or straight run? You must have a mature 5 year old to be willing to get livestock for him but I believe responsibility it good for kids, so hopefully it will end well.

He’s obsessed with chickens and I thought it would help him learn responsibility. Hoping it goes well also, but fully prepared to do all the heavy lifting.
thanks for your answer!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

Chicks need a warm place they can go to warm up if they get cold. If you've ever watched a broody hen raise chicks you'd quickly see that they don't need to be in a warm spot all the time. How warm that warm spot needs to be depends on their age, the required temperature drops fairly quickly as they age. How long they can stay away from that heat depends on age and how warm ambient temperature is. Many people would be really surprised at how tough those chicks can be. There are a few photos floating around this forum of a broody hen with her chicks in the snow.

I don't use a thermometer, I watch the chicks. They will tell you when they are cold, either by body language or with a plaintive peeping. That plaintive peeping is so sad it tears at your heartstrings, you know something is wrong when you hear it.

 

[SpicyDisaster]

Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

Chicks need a warm place they can go to warm up if they get cold. If you've ever watched a broody hen raise chicks you'd quickly see that they don't need to be in a warm spot all the time. How warm that warm spot needs to be depends on their age, the required temperature drops fairly quickly as they age. How long they can stay away from that heat depends on age and how warm ambient temperature is. Many people would be really surprised at how tough those chicks can be. There are a few photos floating around this forum of a broody hen with her chicks in the snow.

I don't use a thermometer, I watch the chicks. They will tell you when they are cold, either by body language or with a plaintive peeping. That plaintive peeping is so sad it tears at your heartstrings, you know something is wrong when you hear it.

For reals, the peeping is so heartrending! For the first week or so we had our chicks in Spring we only took them out for a few minutes at a time. They would start to get loud and more active when they wanted to warm back up. By the time the chicks were 4 weeks old they would come sit on us for about 10-15 minutes without an issue. They liked to be on our shoulders snuggled next to our neck or sitting directly on our arm/leg (skin contact). By 6-8 weeks they will likely be fully feathered and be able to regulate their own temperature. Ours would sit with us for about a show before they wanted to poop so I recommend sitting on a towel for snuggle time

 

[Shadrach]

my five-year-old son has decided to become a backyard chicken farmer. We got him Three chicks yesterday from the hatchery. He would like to take them out of the brooder at times to snuggle them and watch a show with them or something. How long can a check be out before they get too cold? Can I just let him hold a little chick in his lap for a while while he watches some silly show? And yes, I know he hast to be very gentle and I help him.

I know I'm wasting my time but...
You should read this article.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chick-instructions-on-one-page.71977/

In particular you should note this bit.

And I cannot emphasize this enough. DO NOT HANDLE the chicks for the first 2 weeks! Normal socialization with humans in the first two weeks is just reaching in to feed them, letting them examine your hand and that is it. Handling them more than that will kill them. They are fragile. After 2 weeks you can take them out and hold them for short periods as they get older the time can be longer.

 

[chickennewb-E]

Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

Chicks need a warm place they can go to warm up if they get cold. If you've ever watched a broody hen raise chicks you'd quickly see that they don't need to be in a warm spot all the time. How warm that warm spot needs to be depends on their age, the required temperature drops fairly quickly as they age. How long they can stay away from that heat depends on age and how warm ambient temperature is. Many people would be really surprised at how tough those chicks can be. There are a few photos floating around this forum of a broody hen with her chicks in the snow.

I don't use a thermometer, I watch the chicks. They will tell you when they are cold, either by body language or with a plaintive peeping. That plaintive peeping is so sad it tears at your heartstrings, you know something is wrong when you hear it.

thank you! i let him have them out long enough for their “baby pictures,” and they’re warming back up.

 

[chickennewb-E]

I know I'm wasting my time but...
You should read this article.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chick-instructions-on-one-page.71977/

In particular you should note this bit.

And I cannot emphasize this enough. DO NOT HANDLE the chicks for the first 2 weeks! Normal socialization with humans in the first two weeks is just reaching in to feed them, letting them examine your hand and that is it. Handling them more than that will kill them. They are fragile. After 2 weeks you can take them out and hold them for short periods as they get older the time can be longer.

Thank you for this!!!

They are 3 weeks old. Can we safely take them out now? And for how long? Thank you!

 

[Mamatomany123]

I have always handled my chicks daily and have never lost 1. I actually had to handle last year's chicks a ton because I brood in the coop and we lost power during our snow storm. I start doing daily checks on them from the beginning because it ages handling them as adults easier. And I also check for pasty butt the first few days. Again,I've never lost 1 by doing this.

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you for this!!!

They are 3 weeks old. Can we safely take them out now? And for how long? Thank you!

If you must. Thye still need to be kept warm at three weeks old so that is what you must look out for most. Don't let them get chilled.
The problem is when chicks are very young and handled incorrectly is any damage done often doesn't show until later in their development. In the first couple of weeks chicks are so fragile that even the slightest pressure can compress bones and organs. The bones will harden in the "squashed" postion or the organs will not grow into their correct shape.
I expect you've read that lots of people have held chicks without any problems. The thing is they won't know if they done any damage unless of course the chick dies.