Outdoor Brooding - When to put them outside

[Silexian]

Hello everyone! I'm getting my very first batch of chicks in a few days. I've had chickens for almost 8 years, but I've never ventured into the world of baby chicks until now. I'm hoping to get some opinions from people with more experience than me.

I will be brooding outdoors in my predator-proof run that I will cover to protect from the elements - I will be using the Mama Heating Pad method. I recently gave my grown, established flock to a friend, so the chicks will not be sharing the space.

I've spent time reading a lot of the Mama Heating Pad threads/comments and other various threads about brooding outdoors and I'm seeing a whole lot of different opinions regarding when to actually put them outdoors.
- "Right away even if there are subzero temperatures. They're tough and they'll tell you what they need."
- "Wait a few days to make sure they're okay."
- "Wait until night-time temps are over a certain benchmark."
- "What are you thinking? They need to be under a heat lamp indoors kept at exactly X temperature!"

I'm inclined to start them outside right off the bat with the heating pad cave, only bringing them indoors or set up my heat lamp outside if they seem too cold. After all, I have never used artificial heat with my started pullets/grown chickens in the past, even when the temperature dove well below zero and they were always totally fine and seemingly unphased. ... but as the delivery date comes closer, I have begun second-guessing my "outside right away" conviction. (Our forecast the week we get the babies expects mostly sunny days in the 50's/60's and nights in the 30's, which isn't too bad, but it's definitely not what I would call "warm".)

So what do you think? When do you put your chicks outdoors with the heating pad/plate? And why then?

I always brood mine out in my brooder shed. Starting in February and March. I actually have the first 80 that I hatched out there now. Even when a hen is raising them. They do not have constant heat. They move and forage as the hen does. Until they get chilly and get her to sit on them again. Like you said. They if they are not warm enough in their cave. You can add another heat source.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Your temperatures aren't too bad for brooding directly outdoors, but if it makes you feel safer you certainly can start them indoors for a few days or even the first week.

I do brood mine outdoors as soon as I get them, so usually around 2-3 days old. Haven't had any issues doing it that way with a mama heat pad placed in a draft free section of the brooder. I provide Poultry Nutri-Drench or an electrolyte/vitamin mix in the water, watch to see that they are drinking properly and can find the heat source properly, and then I let them settle in. First day or two I do check on them more frequently.

 

[debid]

I start mine outside but in a coop, not the run, with the mhp on high. The pop door stays closed the first few days so they are confined to a fairly small area and I attach a piece of plastic sheeting so when I have the big door open for observation and tending food/water, they don't have a breeze blowing on them. I have done it this way, oh, 3 times now? No losses, no issues. I start in February or March whenever the local hatchery has what I want. Its in the teens to 70s, wildly variable in spring.. That is the beauty of replicating a hen for your heat, it's the right temperature for warming no matter what the thermometer says.

 

[HenHouse Henry]

Hello everyone! I'm getting my very first batch of chicks in a few days. I've had chickens for almost 8 years, but I've never ventured into the world of baby chicks until now. I'm hoping to get some opinions from people with more experience than me.

I will be brooding outdoors in my predator-proof run that I will cover to protect from the elements - I will be using the Mama Heating Pad method. I recently gave my grown, established flock to a friend, so the chicks will not be sharing the space.

I've spent time reading a lot of the Mama Heating Pad threads/comments and other various threads about brooding outdoors and I'm seeing a whole lot of different opinions regarding when to actually put them outdoors.
- "Right away even if there are subzero temperatures. They're tough and they'll tell you what they need."
- "Wait a few days to make sure they're okay."
- "Wait until night-time temps are over a certain benchmark."
- "What are you thinking? They need to be under a heat lamp indoors kept at exactly X temperature!"

I'm inclined to start them outside right off the bat with the heating pad cave, only bringing them indoors or set up my heat lamp outside if they seem too cold. After all, I have never used artificial heat with my started pullets/grown chickens in the past, even when the temperature dove well below zero and they were always totally fine and seemingly unphased. ... but as the delivery date comes closer, I have begun second-guessing my "outside right away" conviction. (Our forecast the week we get the babies expects mostly sunny days in the 50's/60's and nights in the 30's, which isn't too bad, but it's definitely not what I would call "warm".)

So what do you think? When do you put your chicks outdoors with the heating pad/plate? And why then?

I live in the Pacific Northwest I have raised chickens off and on all my life. I have always put the chicks outside after a couple of weeks inside the basement/ garage. I retired last year and i am going to start a new flock, and looked up about raising chicks. I was amazed at the amount of info out there saying not to put them outside. I have a small coop that closes off and is critter proof. I have a ceramic heating lamp and a thermometer i can monitor in the house. i open it up in the day to let them roam in a small pen for short periods. It gets down to the upper 30's by the time i put them out, daytime temp are in the upper 50's and up. I run the lamp for a week before hand to monitor it to make sure they will be warm. We do live in a mild area. I have never used heat for the older girls in the winter. we rarely get below freezing sometimes mid to upper 20;s lots of rain. Just keep them dry. Good Luck and go for it..

 

[LightMadeLiquid]

Thanks everyone! My first batch hatched on the 17th and just now made it to the small local feed store that I ordered the chicks through (on the 20th). They sent out an email saying that they're going to keep them for a few extra days before allowing pickup so they can help the babies recuperate. Hoping for a happy outcome for the babies. Depending on the level of calm/strength they've got when I pick them up, I'll likely end up keeping them inside the house and somewhere quiet for the first couple of days when I get them to help them out further.