How long indoors?

[Blooie]

I'm another outside brooder. If mine have been shipped, I keep them in the house under a small heating pad cave until I know they are eating and drinking and know where the heat is - usually just the first 24 hours until I'm sure I don't have any shipping stress. Then out to the run they go! If I've picked them up myself, I pick lively, strong looking chicks and those go from the car directly to the outside brooder. They have already been eating and drinking and their biggest risk of shipping stress is usually over with by the time I get them. I do this when temps are so low that conventional brooding says they should all be dead within minutes - temps in the teens and twenties. Haven't lost a chick or had a sick one yet.

Yes, I've been through a power outage with mine outside. They were only a week old. We were having 60 mph wind gusts with sustained winds in the 40 mph range and it was snowing sideways. We went to bed around 11. Hours later my husband yelled, "The chicks!" The sound of the power coming back on is what woke him up. No idea how many hours it had been off, either. So we bundled up and fought the snow and wind, expecting to see chickcicles. Nope, their straw cave had retained enough heat to keep them warm and the only thing that disturbed then was our flashlights. We reset the heating pad and they were just fine. They grew up to be 8 of the prettiest Buff Brahmas you'll ever see. And by the way, they were the only chicks in the brooder - the other 15 chicks were 3 and 4 weeks old and not even using the brooder anymore - they were fully integrated with the flock and roosting in the coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

 

[lazy gardener]

I also brood outside. But, I do allow my babies 24 - 48 hours out of the incubator before moving them outside. Mine go from bator to heating pad brooder inside for a day or two, then, HPB and babies go straight outside. They do great. I'll never brood inside again, except for that first day or two. Too much dust and dander. I like breathing too much to subject my lungs to that stuff!

 

[Blooie]

I also brood outside. But, I do allow my babies 24 - 48 hours out of the incubator before moving them outside. Mine go from bator to heating pad brooder inside for a day or two, then, HPB and babies go straight outside. They do great. I'll never brood inside again, except for that first day or two. Too much dust and dander. I like breathing too much to subject my lungs to that stuff!

I agree with @lazy gardener As I said, mine get at least that 24 hour period indoors until I'm sure that they know what to do and none are suffering from shipping stress. This will be my first year incubating eggs (gulp!) and I'm sure I'll follow her lead when they hatch. And I am SO stealing @azygous 's portal door idea!

 

[nchls school]

A number of times I have read posts that each of us has different situations and ways of doing things. How true. I will continue with keeping my new chicks indoors until I am sure that all is well; especially in the winter, because that is what I am comfortable with.

 

[lazy gardener]

As well you should. None of us are advocating that you step outside of your comfort zone. We are merely pointing out that there are options. When I started brooding chicks, my paradigm was that the ONLY chicks that got brooded outside were the ones in huge farms where the farmers were brooding hundreds/thousands of chicks at a time in a dedicated brooder house.

 

[Blooie]

Agree. You have to do what is comfortable for you and you know what that is better than anyone!

 

[nchls school]

As well you should. None of us are advocating that you step outside of your comfort zone. We are merely pointing out that there are options. When I started brooding chicks, my paradigm was that the ONLY chicks that got brooded outside were the ones in huge farms where the farmers were brooding hundreds/thousands of chicks at a time in a dedicated brooder house.

I believe what you have written. I also believe that it is hard for some to accept that there is more than one "right" way.

 

[RockyFieldsFarm]

Hello fellow Massachusetts person!! I prefer to brood in the coop. My sole power supply also supplies my house, so if it does go out, I will be aware. If I do not brood in the coop, I brood in the garage.. Which I am not a fan of. The dust, the dander, dealing with my pesky cat.. Also, if the heat light went out due to a faulty issue in the garage I would be as unaware of it as i would be if it happened in the coop. I have had no problems, I am going into my ninth year.

I change my bulb every new brood. Check it every few days... In the beginning create a space within the coop that will become warm. You do not simply throw then into the coop as baby chicks, throw a heat lamp up and think you're good to go... With the right setup it can be done in our state.

 

[RockyFieldsFarm]

I'm also not the biggest fan of having the heat lamps inside my home. They have started fires...

 

[MH37125]

So how much dust and dander are we talking about here? Haha now I'm worried. I'll have my chicks indoors for at least 3 weeks until our run is complete outside. I've lined the entire floor with plastic (an empty back bedroom) and have the brooder on a large rectangular table. Will running air cleaners help you think?