I need to add to my flock and winter is around the corner…

[GuernseyCow]

It’s almost the end of October here in Wisconsin. We lost 4 chickens within the last year and right now I’d like to add 4 to our flock. How dumb is this idea going into winter? My husband doesn’t think we should until spring. But I think we could pull it off. The brooding box can be inside for the first 6-8 weeks. I can then move it into our garage and slowly transition them into our coop/run with daily interaction. We winterize our run so they have tons of playing room. The only concern is the Wisconsin temps. Soooo, someone needs to talk me out of this or gimme good arguments for the husband

 

[NatJ]

Depending on the size of your coop, maybe you could set up a brooding box there now (no chicks), and measure the temperatures. Chicks care about the temperature where they are, not the temperature outdoors.

If you are able to brood the chicks right in the coop, it can make integrating them with your other hens easier. It also avoids the difficult question of when to move them out of the house. They will gradually spend less time in their heated area, and more time running around the cooler part of their brooder, and at some point you will notice that they do not need the heat at all (you will know because they will not be using it.)

Yes, the weather will get colder in the next few months, but the chicks will also be getting older, so I would expect them to be fine.

If your husband is worried about the chicks in the cold, showing that you can achieve correct temperatures in the coop should help.

If you husband is worried about chicks spending months in the house making dust, noise, and smells, then brooding them in the coop would solve that too.

 

[Sueby]

I'm a fan of fall chicks, eggs in the spring while everyone is raising babies! I have 3 week olds now, I'm brooding them outdoors in my integration coop with a brooder plate. They have been in upper 30's at night & 50's during the day & have been fine, I only see them under the plate at night now, never during the day.

Of course everyones set up is different. But if you can manage it in your environment I say go for it.

 

[Douza]

It’s almost the end of October here in Wisconsin. We lost 4 chickens within the last year and right now I’d like to add 4 to our flock. How dumb is this idea going into winter? My husband doesn’t think we should until spring. But I think we could pull it off. The brooding box can be inside for the first 6-8 weeks. I can then move it into our garage and slowly transition them into our coop/run with daily interaction. We winterize our run so they have tons of playing room. The only concern is the Wisconsin temps. Soooo, someone needs to talk me out of this or gimme good arguments for the husband

Let me know if you find any hens I have the same concern with only one left.

 

[Tonyroo]

Your original plan is a sound plan. It would totally work without problems. Plus it's been done before by other folks.

 

[629522]

I'm also a fan of fall chicks or even early spring (January) but admittedly I'm in Texas so I don't have anything close to your climate except last February when Mother Nature tried to kill us. But I think if you brood in the bathroom and then move out to the barn it will work. Even in early spring here we will move the littles into an enclosure we call the peck and play during daytime hours so they can get sun. And if they are in the coop they will be huddled close to one another.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I've had chicks in winter. Actually, I had chicks last year during our texas winter storm. I brooded them in the coop (until we lost power) then brought them inside and kept them close to the fireplace for warmth. Wouldn't do it again but they lived and are now all healthy and laying.

 

[Folly's place]

If you are getting chicks vaccinated against Marek's disease, they will need to be totally isolated away from your coop for two weeks anyway. Our garage would work fine for this all winter, maybe yours will too. Then they need to be at the coop in a 'see but don't touch' area for a while, before integrating.
In warmer weather, without all that snow, integrating chicks into the flock is easier, starting them out while everyone is free ranging. You won't have that choice, probably, so your covered run has to be big enough, and have plenty of areas for birds to avoid each other.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

As others have mentioned, you can manage your winter temperatures whether in your house, garage, or coop. With the extreme temperatures it is more risky. What might be a bit of excitement in warm weather could be fatal in your extremes. But all the chicks care about is having a warm enough spot in the coldest temperatures and a cool enough spot in the warmest temperatures.

What concerns me more is the actual integration. Integration takes room even if they are all adults, but adults can work it out. If immature chicks are involved t takes room and a lot of time. The chicks will need to mature enough to make their way with the flock if space is tight at all. I'm not talking about 4 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run but more. In winter, snow or a storm may block off everything outside so all the room you have is in your coop.

You do need to figure out how you are going to keep them warm but as long as you don't have a power outage that should be manageable. Think about how much room they will have until they mature enough to join the pecking order, probably around May.

 

[NatJ]

What concerns me more is the actual integration. Integration takes room even if they are all adults, but adults can work it out. If immature chicks are involved t takes room and a lot of time. The chicks will need to mature enough to make their way with the flock if space is tight at all. I'm not talking about 4 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run but more. In winter, snow or a storm may block off everything outside so all the room you have is in your coop.

If the coop is large enough to provide 4 square feet per chicken (adults and young ones), then maybe the coop could be divided with wire mesh. That way the adults and the young ones could live next to each other with no danger, and integration could wait until nice weather in the spring.

Or it might be possible to integrate the chicks at a young age with something like this article describes:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
(The article shows an in-coop brooder space with small doors, so chicks can come out to mingle with the older chickens but can run back into their space for safety. This only works when the chicks are much smaller than the hens, but if the chicks are successfully integrated when young they will not need to retreat when older.)