Keeping Day-Old Chicks Outside?

[houseofhagemans]

Hey all, we are moving into my moms home and building up a mini homestead in her larger backyard while we are there. It's a pretty rural place out in the Blue Ridge mountains. She is okay with us getting chickens, so we ordered some day-old chicks to arrive the first weekend of August (it'll be quite hot outside until mid-September there). After we ordered them, she informed us that we can't keep them inside the house if we can avoid it at all (and to be fair, there is not enough space for all 15 of them indoors the single-wide trailer past a couple weeks of age).

So I'm trying to figure out what it looks like to build a brooder for such tiny chicks outdoors, probably stationed on the front (uncovered) porch. I'm planning on rigging up a waterproofed heating system that trails its cord inside the enclosed/weatherproof portion of the brooder box. Similar in construction to a rabbit hutch. Does this sound like it would work? What other features are important here? I'm so worried they'll be eaten by a critter or freeze - even though it's the hottest part of the year in August where we'll be living. I understand mother hens hatch their chicks outdoors, but from what I understand day-old chicks are more vulnerable considering their stress in transport. Someone help me out!

 

[azygous]

New chicks need a heat source to be around 85F to 90F the first week. That's mostly at night, though, when they aren't consuming calories to generate body heat. During the day, they are comfortable at temps as low as 70F.

You do need a power source for the heat, but it shouldn't heat their entire space. I recommend highly the heating pad system of brooding. It's especially convenient for brooding chicks outdoors as it closely simulates a mother hen for the chicks to snuggle beneath. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

Your rabbit hutch idea may not be adequate if it's too small, if it doesn't provide shelter from sun and drafts and weather. Of course it absolutely has to be secure against predators, from rats to cats to raccoons or worse, if you have bears there.

Understand that chicks double in size each week for the first several months. They will want to be running and flying at age two weeks. They need space. If you do not provide adequate space, there can be aggression and injuries.

 

[Chookchicken]

Is there anyway you can keep them in the garage? The safest place for them is indoors. Most brooders are built for indoor use and not predator proof.

The reason mother hens can hatch and raise their chicks outdoors it because the mother hen is always there to protect her chicks, they don’t have that in the brooder. The mother hen is like a walking protection blanket for them, they can hide under her plus she provides them warmth.

 

[Blooie]

Is there anyway you can keep them in the garage? The safest place for them is indoors. Most brooders are built for indoor use and not predator proof.

The reason mother hens can hatch and raise their chicks outdoors it because the mother hen is always there to protect her chicks, they don’t have that in the brooder. The mother hen is like a walking protection blanket for them, they can hide under her plus she provides them warmth.

That’s why the Mama Heating Pad system is so successful. It duplicates a mother hen almost perfectly…..in fact, the only difference is that a Mama Heating Pad stays put. It’s warm under there, it’s dark, it’s soft, it’s secure, and they decide what they need and when they need it. They duck underneath for a quick warmup, if they get spooked, or as the sun is going down at night. They love to loaf on top of or snuggle beside it, just as they do under a mother hen. It doesn’t heat the entire space they’re in….it works by warming the chicks directly.

I’ve used this system outdoors for over 7 years now, and the chicks are strong, confident, and calm. Our springtime chick-sesason temps here in northwestern Wyoming are still in the twenties, dipping into the teens, and the chicks thrive. In fact, it amazes me how little time they spend under it. They spend most of their time exploring and learning to be chickens. They sleep under it straight through the night, which means that instead of overloading their still immature little digestive systems with food 24/7, they fill up those little crops just before sundown and then their digestive systems empty slowly as they sleep, just as nature intended. The result is far fewer cases of pasty butt. They also feather out faster. They start taking themselves off heat by about 3 weeks, which coincides with the timing of a mother hen…..by then they don’t all fit under her anyway.

By 4 weeks they’ve taken themselves off heat completely, although they’ll still duck under if something spooks them. I take out the brooder completely at that age and we have complete and safe integration with the rest of the flock. I just provide them with a few hidey holes to duck under if they get spooked, but because they’ve been raised in the run in full view of the adults from Day 1 the Bigs just don’t bother them. I hang their feeders side-by-side with just the wire of the brooder pen separating them…..same with the waterers. So there’s no bullying away from the resources when I start mingling them at 2 weeks old.

The only thing Mama Heating Pad doesn’t do is move around, as I said. Otherwise it duplicates her and the chicks use their own natural instincts. I love this system. In warmer weather, as the OP will have when the chicks arrive, the heat can be on for the first week, then just turned on at night. Chicks need cooler temperatures than what we’ve been told by conventional wisdom. Average temperatures under the heating pad cave on the “floor” are between 82.5 and 85. I’ve never lost a chick in 7+ years.

@azygous was among the first to embrace this system when I first started the Mama Heating Pad thread and she’s been invaluable with her modifications and insights. I think I’m probably her biggest fan! She has a fantastic article on raising chicks outdoors. I also wrote one. There’s a link to mine in my signature.

 

[rosemarythyme]

A rabbit hutch style brooder can work very well. Here's my set up which utilizes a prefab that's similar to a hutch: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ With 15 chicks you will need something bigger than what I'm using, or plan on having them in the coop by maybe 2-3 weeks or so.

Actually with predators being a concern, you might want to skip the brooder entirely and fast track the coop so they can be brooded inside the coop instead. That would take care of predator concerns as well as space issues.

Heat is a concern as chicks cannot regulate their body temperatures well while young, so they can overheat as well as get chilled. Not sure what the porch or future chicken yard looks like or how hot/cool it gets, but you might need to consider shading the area with shade cloth to help moderate temperatures.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm a great fan of outdoor brooding.

I've brooded in my Little Monitor Coop when it was unoccupied but I also have an Outdoor Brooder.

Last summer I had to juggle different wattage bulbs and the height of the chain to keep my chicks at the right temperature under the heat lamp. This year I have a brooder plate and I love it -- no juggling even on the hottest days because the chicks don't use it when they don't need it and it doesn't heat up the whole place.

Chicks need a place that is warm enough, but they also need to be able to get away from that place to cool off.

Here's some basic info to help you down the road:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

You said you were in the Blue Ridge. This is more relevant to your summers most likely: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

 

[FC16]

For the first few weeks I’d be very cautious and ensure they have all the heat they need. And a lot of people may disagree with this, but at around 3 weeks old I’ve always moved my chicks outside/ taken them off heat. I know there’s many rules, but It’s always worked for me. As long as the temperature isn’t too cold, (for me when it’s around 20°c/ around 70f outside) then I just remove there heat completely. For the first night or two I constantly check on them, but after that they’re fine. It’s a very quick change I know, but they seem to adapt quick and in my opinion they feather up quicker. (Of course depending on the breed some feather very slowly and it may be later they go outside)

I wouldn’t worry too much if It’s august and very hot, good luck

 

[NatJ]

So I'm trying to figure out what it looks like to build a brooder for such tiny chicks outdoors

Do you already have a chicken coop?
If you do, just brood them in the coop. That will be much easier than building a separate brooder.

I'm so worried they'll be eaten by a critter or freeze - even though it's the hottest part of the year in August where we'll be living.

A good chicken coop should be critter-proof anyway.

If you provide a heat source, they will not freeze. But be careful not to cook them either! It works best to have one warm area (heating pad cave, brooder plate, heat lamp-- choose one, and put it in one corner of their space. Be sure it won't start a fire.) Then have all the rest of their space as cool as reasonably possible. In hot August weather, that means shade and plenty of ventilation.

 

[NagemTX]

Pictures of where I'm brooding mine out side in hoop coop, first week in a hard plastic pool that they are now escaping(was hoping for two weeks in the pool.) The blue pool in the back is where I'm brooding. Had to add a heat lamp at nite and a fan on them during the day. Only issues now is Fire Ants. Once I have those under control I can remove the pool.

 

[houseofhagemans]

Pictures of where I'm brooding mine out side in hoop coop, first week in a hard plastic pool that they are now escaping(was hoping for two weeks in the pool.) The blue pool in the back is where I'm brooding. Had to add a heat lamp at nite and a fan on them during the day. Only issues now is Fire Ants. Once I have those under control I can remove the pool.

This is the exact setup I was planning, actually. I hadn't considered the potential issue of ants. Let me know if you find anything that gets rid of them!