Keeping older chicks happy in brooder.

[thecatumbrella]

My 6 week-old chicks had a taste of their outdoor pen last week, but the weather has been VERY uncooperative the last few days. Cold, wet, wind. And we're still waiting on those last few head feathers. It's Day 3 of being stuck indoors and the guilt is eating away at me.

I've got a 3x8 brooder for 7 bantams (pekins and a d'uccle). It has their heat plate (which they still nap under during the day), parallel bar roosts, open space for zoomies, and some tap toys that I rotate around. They get 4 visits during the day, the last of which we put in a dust bath for anyone that's interested. Jumping up is encouraged during the visits to stretch their wings and get accustomed to handling.

Am I overthinking this? Is there more I can be doing? I see some people keeping their chicks inside for up to 8-10 weeks (probably because of slow development or weather), but mine are bursting at the seams with energy.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know I am simple minded but to me the definition of keeping chicks happy is to keep them healthy and more importantly that they do not get hurt. I don't worry about their emotional development or psyche. If you are worried you might want to pipe in reruns of Dr. Phil or even Oprah to help them with that.

A big part of taking care of them is to give them sufficient room. Some people have coops for 7 bantams smaller than your brooder. At 6 weeks of age they are not crowded in your brooder.

How cold is your coldest night? I don't care about average or normal, what is important is your extremes. I've had chicks younger than yours go through nights in the mid 20's without extra heat. Are you familiar with the breed Naked-Necks? Without any feathers on their necks they are still considered a cold hardy breed. I personally would not be worried about yours missing a few head feathers. I understand you are. If your days or nights are below freezing I can certainly see your concern. If it worries you that much don't put them out. I've seen them in those temperatures myself. Until you see it for yourself you probably won't trust anyone about it. I really do not blame you for that.

How big is your coop? Is it bigger than your brooder? If it is protected from a cold wind and keeps the rain out so it is dry, they will probably be OK out there. The only reason I'm hesitating is that I do not know what your lowest extreme temperature will be. There is a difference in mid 20's and single digits.

I'm sure your post is not about whether or not to move them out permanently. I don't think you are ready for that, even if they are. If you want to take them out in that weather and lock them in the coop, they should be fine as long as they stay dry and out of the wind. Frankly at that age I'd let mine decide if they wanted to go out on that weather or not but you are not me.

If your concern is that they are bored in your very-large-for-7 bantam chicks in a brooder with all kinds of enhancements I'll tell a story about my dog. When I was picking her up from boarding the caretaker said that the dog lied. Even right after she had eaten the dog was telling them that she was starving. As long as your chicks are not hurting each other they are not unhappy. They may want to go out and they will lie to try to get their way.

Good luck!

 

[NNYchick]

I am in Northern NY, depending on where you are in NH your temps are about the same as mine (50-60's during day and 40's at night) or warmer. I would not hesitate to move 6 week old chicks into a draft free coop now. BUT you have not acclimated them to the cooler temps. I would start doing that ASAP. Unplug the heat plate at 6 weeks old they do not need it inside they are going under it as habit and it is probably slowing down feather growth. If the room that the brooder is in has a window, open a window during the day to cool the room down some.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I know I am simple minded but to me the definition of keeping chicks happy is to keep them healthy and more importantly that they do not get hurt. I don't worry about their emotional development or psyche. If you are worried you might want to pipe in reruns of Dr. Phil or even Oprah to help them with that.

A big part of taking care of them is to give them sufficient room. Some people have coops for 7 bantams smaller than your brooder. At 6 weeks of age they are not crowded in your brooder.

How cold is your coldest night? I don't care about average or normal, what is important is your extremes. I've had chicks younger than yours go through nights in the mid 20's without extra heat. Are you familiar with the breed Naked-Necks? Without any feathers on their necks they are still considered a cold hardy breed. I personally would not be worried about yours missing a few head feathers. I understand you are. If your days or nights are below freezing I can certainly see your concern. If it worries you that much don't put them out. I've seen them in those temperatures myself. Until you see it for yourself you probably won't trust anyone about it. I really do not blame you for that.

How big is your coop? Is it bigger than your brooder? If it is protected from a cold wind and keeps the rain out so it is dry, they will probably be OK out there. The only reason I'm hesitating is that I do not know what your lowest extreme temperature will be. There is a difference in mid 20's and single digits.

I'm sure your post is not about whether or not to move them out permanently. I don't think you are ready for that, even if they are. If you want to take them out in that weather and lock them in the coop, they should be fine as long as they stay dry and out of the wind. Frankly at that age I'd let mine decide if they wanted to go out on that weather or not but you are not me.

If your concern is that they are bored in your very-large-for-7 bantam chicks in a brooder with all kinds of enhancements I'll tell a story about my dog. When I was picking her up from boarding the caretaker said that the dog lied. Even right after she had eaten the dog was telling them that she was starving. As long as your chicks are not hurting each other they are not unhappy. They may want to go out and they will lie to try to get their way.

Good luck!

I probably need the Dr. Phil reruns more than they do.

You always give such thoughtful responses and definitely made me feel better about my brooder. We had to rehome our flock in 2023 due to bullying... needless to say, I'm a bit of a worrier on how much space/entertainment I'm providing to prevent it from happening again.

It sounds like they're likely ready to move outside and I'm being overprotective. My biggest concern is the dampness WITH the temps being 40's and 50's. We use mulch in our covered run to prevent flooding, and it holds moisture along one side to keep the rest of the run quite dry. Of course, chickens seem to love digging in damp mulch, and our chicks have feathered feet. The coop itself is bone dry.

I'll put them outside tomorrow as a test. It will be damp and cooler (though not as bad as the last few days). If they're uncomfortable, they'll show me. Thank you for the reassurances.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I am in Northern NY, depending on where you are in NH your temps are about the same as mine (50-60's during day and 40's at night) or warmer. I would not hesitate to move 6 week old chicks into a draft free coop now. BUT you have not acclimated them to the cooler temps. I would start doing that ASAP. Unplug the heat plate at 6 weeks old they do not need it inside they are going under it as habit and it is probably slowing down feather growth. If the room that the brooder is in has a window, open a window during the day to cool the room down some.

I am good on that front! We brood in our basement and the temp down there is mid-50's. I would LOVE to remove the heat plate. They've been sleeping without it for a week, so I'll take it out tonight. I appreciate the push to get it done!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My biggest concern is the dampness WITH the temps being 40's and 50's. We use mulch in our covered run to prevent flooding, and it holds moisture along one side to keep the rest of the run quite dry.

As long as it's not flooding and the chicks have somewhere dry to go I wouldn't sweat it. Hens brooding outside don't stop their babies from wandering around even when it's been rainy.

It had rained enough before I snapped this photo that there were noticeable puddles in the grass outside the run. But the run is surface dry enough for them to walk on easily so no reason not to let them out.

 

[thecatumbrella]

As long as it's not flooding and the chicks have somewhere dry to go I wouldn't sweat it. Hens brooding outside don't stop their babies from wandering around even when it's been rainy.

It had rained enough before I snapped this photo that there were noticeable puddles in the grass outside the run. But the run is surface dry enough for them to walk on easily so no reason not to let them out.

Perfect. It's our first time with feathered feet, and all I hear is KEEP THEM DRY, KEEP THEM DRY. I obviously wouldn't want them to get soaked and freeze, but I'm hoping they can handle something exactly like your photo.

Someday we'll have a bone dry run, but today is not that day.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Someday we'll have a bone dry run, but today is not that day.

Aaaaand we're dust bathing in the wet mulch while the dust baths go untouched...

 

[dearmeghann]

Perfect. It's our first time with feathered feet, and all I hear is KEEP THEM DRY, KEEP THEM DRY. I obviously wouldn't want them to get soaked and freeze, but I'm hoping they can handle something exactly like your photo.

Someday we'll have a bone dry run, but today is not that day.

We're raising two bantam cochins, and their feathered feet stress me out! They're always stepping in poo, I was like "keeping your feet clean is going to be a full-time job!"

The only one of our older girls with some feathers on her feet is our maran. But she basically has some hairy ankles

Also, thank you for this post! I know that I'll be a nervous wreck in a few weeks once the babies are bigger. They're only 3-4 weeks old, and I'm already rearranging their stuff in the pen.

 

[thecatumbrella]

We're raising two bantam cochins, and their feathered feet stress me out! They're always stepping in poo, I was like "keeping your feet clean is going to be a full-time job!"

Yes! I've been a bit stressed about the feather feet, but mine have somehow stayed pristine. My clean-footed chicks were dirtier! We're using hemp in the brooder this round... not sure if that makes the difference. We'll see how they hold up in mulch.