Questions regarding brooding chicks in winter

[Scotty from BI]

This will be my third flock in about 6 years. I decided to purchase some chicks (12), which will arrive as day old chicks in mid October. I live near Seattle Washington so temps will go down to about 32 degrees for a month or two between end of December and February. With adult chicks I haven't needed to heat my coop and it is not a closed building. It has open air on two sides. The temps here in October are in the 60's, daytime and 40's/50's nighttime, November it is about mid/low 50's daytime, 30's/low 40's night etc.

So my question is, if I get them mid October and lower the brooder temp 5 degrees a week from 95 they should be accustomed to 45 degrees in ten weeks if my math is right. This is okay because that takes me to December with daytime highs in the 40's. so if the temps stay at historic levels, can I remove heat sources in December or will they be too young. I have heard that winter chicks feather out faster. If that is true will they be able to go out earlier than 8-10 weeks?

Any other info you can offer regarding brooding winter chicks will be appreciated. I have brooded my chicks in the spring/summer in the past.

 

[Abriana]

This will be my third flock in about 6 years. I decided to purchase some chicks (12), which will arrive as day old chicks in mid October. I live near Seattle Washington so temps will go down to about 32 degrees for a month or two between end of December and February. With adult chicks I haven't needed to heat my coop and it is not a closed building. It has open air on two sides. The temps here in October are in the 60's, daytime and 40's/50's nighttime, November it is about mid/low 50's daytime, 30's/low 40's night etc.

So my question is, if I get them mid October and lower the brooder temp 5 degrees a week from 95 they should be accustomed to 45 degrees in ten weeks if my math is right. This is okay because that takes me to December with daytime highs in the 40's. so if the temps stay at historic levels, can I remove heat sources in December or will they be too young. I have heard that winter chicks feather out faster. If that is true will they be able to go out earlier than 8-10 weeks?

Any other info you can offer regarding brooding winter chicks will be appreciated. I have brooded my chicks in the spring/summer in the past.

One word: don't. It is all one big mess. I am heading to bed now but I can tell you more about it in the morning!

 

[Scotty from BI]

Looking forward to hearing more. I have re-homed my previous flock so these will be my only birds. I ordered a "sweater heater" which is an infrared heater to hang over the perch at night when they are more mature.

 

[azygous]

You should have no problem brooding chicks outdoors under those ambient temps, and that would acclimatize them to cold temperatures from the very beginning. This is how I brood my chicks, and the coldest I've had new chicks is 30s at night and 50s during the day, and they suffered no ill effects, and in fact, thrived.

However, I use the Mama Heating Pad system which closely replicates a broody hen. The chicks are cozy warm when under the pad and get to run around in the cool air acclimatizing. When they're five weeks old, they are fully adapted to the cold and need no further heat when they move into the coop with the adults.

All the details on the many advantages of outdoor brooding are in the article I wrote for BYC linked below.

 

[Scotty from BI]

Thank you for your response. Your response is quite reassuring since I have never experienced having winter chicks. We are lucky because we don't get much Snow or extremely cold weather. But it is cold enough to threaten very young chicks. My plan is to use a red heat lamp for the first three days and then put the infrared heater (the sweater heater) which goes to 185° But only heats objects close to it and not the air around it. I did search around for the "mama heating system". it looks good for the first few weeks or so, but it's not something that can be used for older more mature young chickens. That's why I like the sweeter heater. It's 40 inches long and can be raised and lowered to accommodate the chickens as they get larger and more mature. It is also the lowest possible fire risk that I could find. I love Hearing how different people find solutions for different challenges that arise in raising young chicks under different conditions. There are some very clever and dedicated folks out there. Thanks again for your response

 

[lazy gardener]

Scotty, I agree full heartedly with Azygous. Your brooding temps will match my spring time temps. My chicks are brooded in a grow out coop with the MHP system. It is infinitely adjustable, accommodating chicks from hatch until they no longer need heat. It grows with them. It does a good job brooding chicks in freezing temps. While folks do successfully brood with heat lamps, and sweeter heaters, both systems put out enough heat to possibly cause a fire (in the case of the lamp) and burn the chicks (in the case of the sweeter heater). The heating pad never gets warm enough to cause either issue, yet provides plenty of heat to keep the chicks warm.

Your chicks should be fully feathered, and if brooded with the heat pad cave will wean themselves from the heat by the time they are 5 weeks old (4 if they were moving into warmer season, instead of colder season!) By brooding in the coop, you will not have to go through the stressful change of moving them from a box style brooder to the coop.

How many chicks are you getting? I have successfully brooded 20 chicks with one 12 x 24 pad, and this spring brooded 48 with 2 pads. Of course, if you've already purchased the sweeter, you will want to use that. But, if you have not, I suggest that you take a look at the heating pad cave system. It is much cheaper, and will not produce enough heat to burn your chicks.

Either way, brooding in the fall, especially if done outside is definitely doable. I would NEVER attempt to brood chicks in the house in the fall, b/c the subsequent acclimitization to a cold coop would be difficult.

 

[Scotty from BI]

The more I read about it the more I am liking this heating pad system. I just went to Amazon and purchased a pure relief xl 12x24 inch pad. I am getting 18 chicks through the mail from MyPet Chicken. My intent is to have 12 ultimetly and rehome the rest. Large breeds... astrolorpes, orpington,barred rock,Easter egger and wyandottes. I am not quite clear on how to suspend the blanket over the chicks without having wire between them and the blanket yet.

 

[TeeMom]

I agree with the azygous and lazy gardener. Your temps are very similar to early spring temps here and I have had no problem at all brooding chicks in the coop with the momma heating pad. They have all thrived and I haven't had any heat related losses. Good luck! Fun times ahead.

 

[Scotty from BI]

Is it safe to put the heating pad in direct contact with the wood shavings below or cardboard like a cardboard box? Can the chicks damage the cord as they get bigger?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Read Blooie's thread on the heating pad cave. It's long but has a lot of discussion on how to do it. I don't use it but it's a good system. The things to look for are a pad that does not have an automatic shut-off after a couple of hours like a lot of them do and will come back on automatically after a power outage. Things like temperature settings and how to construct the cave are covered in Blooie's thread.

I use heat lamps in my brooder built into the coop. What you are shooting for (and the cave works well) is to have one area warm enough so the chicks can go to it when they need to warn up but can also get to cooler areas if it gets too hot.

I put chicks into my brooder straight from the incubator or post office regardless of outdoor temperatures. My first hatch of the year is typically in January or February. Sometimes those temperatures are well below freezing, sometimes single digits. I might find frost in the far end of my 3' x 6' brooder, but as long as they have one area warm enough it doesn't matter. I find that those chicks are extremely capable of managing their temperature requirements as long as they have the option, even straight from the incubator.

One place I'm going to try to change your mind, how long they need heat. Most chicks feather out by 4 to 5 weeks. If they are exposed to cold weather they feather out a little faster. If they are fed a higher protein chick starter as opposed to a lower protein grower they feather out a little faster. The ventilation and the breeze protection in their housing makes a difference. The number of chicks so they can snuggle and keep each other warm makes a difference. Having bedding they can snuggle down into can make a difference.

Several times I've had chicks under 6 weeks old go through nights with temperatures in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. The "coop" they are in has really good ventilation up high, the top is basically open as far as air goes but is rainproof. The lower area where they are is totally protected against breezes hitting them. They have been acclimated by being raised in my large brooder in the coop so they get to play in the cold end.

If you raise them outside with that heating pad cave method your chicks will not need any heat at all after 6 weeks, and they could probably get by without heat earlier.