How can I Successfully Brood Chicks Outside in the Winter

[TheAlrightyGina]

I'm brooding 11 outside right now in a converted dog house. For the first week or so I had the main vent window blocked up (I monitor the temp externally) and kept them in there. After they had some feathers I opened the door but kept a careful eye on them to make sure nobody got confused...all 11 got confused the first night so I had to put them back in by hand...after about a week they figured it out. Now at 4 weeks I just have the light on during the day so that they can get warm after running around in the cold and the main vent is open as they're keeping it pretty warm in there with their body heat at night. It's a pretty small dog house though, but I would just say watch them carefully. If they're not acting like happy healthy chicks -- running around everywhere, eating, and drinking-- they may need more warmth. On the off chance one gets chilled, warm them up quickly! I had to do this (brood them) because their mother abandoned them right after hatch, so some got chilled to the point I thought they were dead (completely limp), but I warmed them up in my incubator and they were fine. Good luck!

Edited to add: We've had similar temperatures here in Memphis. While some days have been as high as 65 and some lows in the mid 20s, for the most part it's been in the mid 50's during the day and 30's at night.

 

[ThatTeowonna]

I'm brooding 11 outside right now in a converted dog house. For the first week or so I had the main vent window blocked up (I monitor the temp externally) and kept them in there. After they had some feathers I opened the door but kept a careful eye on them to make sure nobody got confused...all 11 got confused the first night so I had to put them back in by hand...after about a week they figured it out. Now at 4 weeks I just have the light on during the day so that they can get warm after running around in the cold and the main vent is open as they're keeping it pretty warm in there with their body heat at night. It's a pretty small dog house though, but I would just say watch them carefully. If they're not acting like happy healthy chicks -- running around everywhere, eating, and drinking-- they may need more warmth. On the off chance one gets chilled, warm them up quickly! I had to do this (brood them) because their mother abandoned them right after hatch, so some got chilled to the point I thought they were dead (completely limp), but I warmed them up in my incubator and they were fine. Good luck!

Edited to add: We've had similar temperatures here in Memphis. While some days have been as high as 65 and some lows in the mid 20s, for the most part it's been in the mid 50's during the day and 30's at night.

I never considered using my old dog house. Can you please add a pic

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

I never considered using my old dog house. Can you please add a pic

Sure thing! Here you go:


This was right after I turned the light back on and moved the temp reading bulb back in--they like to knock it to the door with their scratching so I probably need to staple it to the ceiling--so that temp is inaccurate.


I still need to refine it a bit as I did it in kind of a rush (hence the poorly crafted window and stopgap ramp). I used a hole saw bit to put in the light. You'll need one slightly larger than the socket for your light. I put the socket through with the switch on the outside and screwed the bulb in from the inside. I have a tarp on to protect the cords from the weather (I tied the extension cord and the light's cord so they wouldn't separate). If you're making this as a permanent installation, I'd seal around the light socket with silicone and perhaps affix some kind of weather proof box to protect the plug. The door was made using the cutout from making this dog house. I just cut it in half and attached a board to keep it securely closed with the locking hook/eye.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How big is that elevated enclosed section. It looks like maybe 4' x 4' but I hate to guess. Also, what kind of ventilation does it have? Having some ventilation up high could be important but having a good wind block down low where they are would also be very important.

I've kept 28 chicks in a 3' x 5' brooder until they were 5 weeks old. These were mostly girls. I also kept 23 in that brooder until they were 5 weeks old, these were mostly boys. In both cases they were OK at five weeks but starting to get crowded, boys take more room than girls. I don't think they could have gone until 6 weeks. Too crowded. If yours is 4' x 4' I would not count on 15 of them going much past 6 weeks in that top section only.

The basic idea of heating the brooder should be to keep one area warm enough for them in the coldest weather and one area cool enough in the warmest weather. One of the big issues when brooding outside is to handle the temperature swings. I've seen it go from below freezing to the 70's Fahrenheit in 36 hours. I did not have to change anything in my outside brooder to handle that.

I use a heat lamp in mine and keep one end toasty while the other end can cool off as much as it will. I sometimes find ice in the far end when it is below freezing. I have great ventilation up high so it does not overheat in warm weather. As long as they have a warm place to go the cold doesn't bother them. I've never used a heating pad and don't know if yours will handle 15 chicks. I'd think it will but have no experience with it. Many people use heating pads in below freezing weather, if set up properly they work great.

One issue you have when brooding below freezing is that water can freeze. You say it only gets in the 30's at night, no big deal. I use this as a waterer when it can freeze. It's a black rubber bowl from Tractor Supply. I fill it with rocks so the chicks can't drown. Since it is rubber if it does freeze I just knock the ice out and refill it. I put it in the area by the heat lamp so it doesn't freeze, but it does still need to be dumped once a day as the chicks will poop in it.

I have concerns in your elevated coop that young chicks won't get back up on their own if they come out. Part of that is at night, you'll have to be sure they all make it upstairs for bed. But I'd also be concerned if they came out and the weather turned during the day. Personally I would not put the heating pad upstairs and give them access to the bottom area until they were older.

I've had 5-1/2 week old chicks go through nights in the mid 20's F with no heat. But they were acclimated, had great ventilation up high , and great wind protection down low where they were. If you use that heating pad yours will be acclimated. You might be surprised at how much they enjoy playing in the cold. The ventilation and breeze protection is up to you.

In your situation I'd keep them totally enclosed in that upper section for a few weeks, maybe five weeks. Don't give them the opportunity to go downstairs and get in trouble. Then select a nice weather day and open that door. See what they do and go from there. This is my preference as it gives you a better chance of training them to go to bed up there when they have a choice. By the time they are three weeks old they won't need to use that ramp at all unless you have chickens that can't fly like Silkies or Frizzles. If they want to, they will be able to fly up. The typical problem is that they just don't want to. You have the same issue with a ramp, they can use it if they want to but they may not want to. You may have to train them to go up there.

There are other options. Wherever you keep them they will poop a lot so you need good access for cleaning.

Unless you have something else in mind or that is a lot bigger than it looks like I'd also start building a larger coop and run now. That is going to be really tight for 15 chickens once they grow a bit.

Good luck!