Raising chicks on grass, no brooder!

[Hannahnic14]

That's interesting so they day they hatch or the moment they do they are outside? I am raising chicks come spring and I am very interested in this

I put mine out when they are 3ish days old, they were by far the healthiest chocks I've raised! They did have access to a heated brooder plate if they needed it.

 

[Silexian]

I have a brooder house. I floor brood my chicks. I use an antique brooder hood for them to get under and warm up. When they are about three weeks old. I give them access to the run. After they learn to go in and out of the coop and run. I start letting them free range.

 

[Gloria Taylor]

(Edit: I did find 1 other thread about brooding outside) I can't seem to find many articles on this topic in the forum anywhere so I thought I would share my experience! This may be a no brainer for some but with everything and everyone everywhere talking about raising in brooder boxes this was an epiphany for me! So far we have raised close to 100 chicks, all in the traditional way with a brooder box inside our garage. I got a batch of cochin and silkie bantams about a week ago and I thought I would start an experiment. I have put them outside in a small modified tsc coop instead of in a brooder box. I figured that when they are hatched with their mom, they are out on grass from day 1, so why tweak nature??

We call it our nursery coop!
We had to add some ventilation and lift up the roof cap an inch or 2 in order to get some circulation going but other than that we didn't have to do anything to it. The run section is perfect for teeny tinys!
View attachment 2776677
As you can see they do have a brooder plate for a few weeks since we are in the 70's at night. (Although they don't seem to use it much?)
View attachment 2776685
I am moving the coop every few days or so for fresh grass. I only have 8 chicks so they should be able to live here until they are big enough to incorporate into my bantam flock.
View attachment 2776687
This is a HUGE space for them since they are so tiny and they love it!! They get fresh grass, bugs, sunshine, all the good stuff!
View attachment 2776689
One night we were supposed to get rain so I did move them into the coop part for the night. I do leave the ladder down so they can climb on it and strengthen their leg muscles.

Take away points:
I have had NO losses, sick chicks, or failure to thrive.
Not a single case of pasty butt!
They were much more active from day one than the ones I raised in the brooder.

No one may be interested in this but I thought I would share just in case some one did!
Please don't tell me all the things I've done wrong with this......my chicks are happy, safe and healthy and that's what matters.
I understand that this can't be done in the winter, and not everyone would be able to do this or have a separate coop just for this purpose.

Any questions please ask!

Thank you for sharing this info. It makes alot of sense!

 

[mldlm]

(Edit: I did find 1 other thread about brooding outside) I can't seem to find many articles on this topic in the forum anywhere so I thought I would share my experience! This may be a no brainer for some but with everything and everyone everywhere talking about raising in brooder boxes this was an epiphany for me! So far we have raised close to 100 chicks, all in the traditional way with a brooder box inside our garage. I got a batch of cochin and silkie bantams about a week ago and I thought I would start an experiment. I have put them outside in a small modified tsc coop instead of in a brooder box. I figured that when they are hatched with their mom, they are out on grass from day 1, so why tweak nature??

We call it our nursery coop!
We had to add some ventilation and lift up the roof cap an inch or 2 in order to get some circulation going but other than that we didn't have to do anything to it. The run section is perfect for teeny tinys!
View attachment 2776677
As you can see they do have a brooder plate for a few weeks since we are in the 70's at night. (Although they don't seem to use it much?)
View attachment 2776685
I am moving the coop every few days or so for fresh grass. I only have 8 chicks so they should be able to live here until they are big enough to incorporate into my bantam flock.
View attachment 2776687
This is a HUGE space for them since they are so tiny and they love it!! They get fresh grass, bugs, sunshine, all the good stuff!
View attachment 2776689
One night we were supposed to get rain so I did move them into the coop part for the night. I do leave the ladder down so they can climb on it and strengthen their leg muscles.

Take away points:
I have had NO losses, sick chicks, or failure to thrive.
Not a single case of pasty butt!
They were much more active from day one than the ones I raised in the brooder.

No one may be interested in this but I thought I would share just in case some one did!
Please don't tell me all the things I've done wrong with this......my chicks are happy, safe and healthy and that's what matters.
I understand that this can't be done in the winter, and not everyone would be able to do this or have a separate coop just for this purpose.

Any questions please ask!

I have the exact same coop, minus the minor adjustments you did. My chicks will be three weeks on Monday(?)….that’s when I bought them at TSC and was told they were a day old. I am currently keeping them (4) in a brooder tub with a warmer in my house, but don’t want to deprive them of a good time outside. I am new to this and do not have hens to keep them warm. It is in the 80s in the day and around 69 - 72 at night. All are healthy. I am thinking of putting them out in the protective run/coop like you have today. Thoughts? Thank you

 

[Hannahnic14]

I have the exact same coop, minus the minor adjustments you did. My chicks will be three weeks on Monday(?)….that’s when I bought them at TSC and was told they were a day old. I am currently keeping them (4) in a brooder tub with a warmer in my house, but don’t want to deprive them of a good time outside. I am new to this and do not have hens to keep them warm. It is in the 80s in the day and around 69 - 72 at night. All are healthy. I am thinking of putting them out in the protective run/coop like you have today. Thoughts? Thank you

As long as the temps stay in that range I would put them out in 2 weeks. That way they are mostly feathered out. If you have a way to put a heat plate in the coop then they can go out now. Hope this helps!

 

[mldlm]

As long as the temps stay in that range I would put them out in 2 weeks. That way they are mostly feathered out. If you have a way to put a heat plate in the coop then they can go out now. Hope this helps!

Thank you. It does!

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

I raise them on grass from day one. In the winter they have a mama (they do any way usually).

Uwww, I love your coloured chicks (avatar photo). So way cool!

 

[leah vanity]

(Edit: I did find 1 other thread about brooding outside) I can't seem to find many articles on this topic in the forum anywhere so I thought I would share my experience! This may be a no brainer for some but with everything and everyone everywhere talking about raising in brooder boxes this was an epiphany for me! So far we have raised close to 100 chicks, all in the traditional way with a brooder box inside our garage. I got a batch of cochin and silkie bantams about a week ago and I thought I would start an experiment. I have put them outside in a small modified tsc coop instead of in a brooder box. I figured that when they are hatched with their mom, they are out on grass from day 1, so why tweak nature??

We call it our nursery coop!
We had to add some ventilation and lift up the roof cap an inch or 2 in order to get some circulation going but other than that we didn't have to do anything to it. The run section is perfect for teeny tinys!
View attachment 2776677
As you can see they do have a brooder plate for a few weeks since we are in the 70's at night. (Although they don't seem to use it much?)
View attachment 2776685
I am moving the coop every few days or so for fresh grass. I only have 8 chicks so they should be able to live here until they are big enough to incorporate into my bantam flock.
View attachment 2776687
This is a HUGE space for them since they are so tiny and they love it!! They get fresh grass, bugs, sunshine, all the good stuff!
View attachment 2776689
One night we were supposed to get rain so I did move them into the coop part for the night. I do leave the ladder down so they can climb on it and strengthen their leg muscles.

Take away points:
I have had NO losses, sick chicks, or failure to thrive.
Not a single case of pasty butt!
They were much more active from day one than the ones I raised in the brooder.

No one may be interested in this but I thought I would share just in case some one did!
Please don't tell me all the things I've done wrong with this......my chicks are happy, safe and healthy and that's what matters.
I understand that this can't be done in the winter, and not everyone would be able to do this or have a separate coop just for this purpose.

Any questions please ask!

Love this! Good job! I think people get too hung up on ‘should’ so I commend you on going against the grain