Raising Chicks To Pullet Size Over The Winter

[calista]

Although I don't have to worry about extreme temperature drops or accumulations of snow and ice where I live in Western Washington, I am concerned about taking a postponed delivery of my 50 mixed heritage breed chicks in late November.

Obviously, I'm all set with a warm, draft-free brooder area and all the food and water basics, but I'd like to hear any tips and advice from those of you who successfully raised winter chicks.

What did you do that worked, and what would you have done differently? Thanks!

 

[Mahonri]

Keep them warm until they are 5 or 6 weeks old.

I only do chicks in winter or early spring as it's just too hot in the summer or early fall here.

That said, I have 4, 4th of July babies out there that I'm expecting eggs from around Thanksgiving.

 

[Judy]

They'll do fine. Actually I think it's an advantage. If they spend a little time outdoors in the warm part of the day, as often as you can, they will feather out faster. You'll be able to tell by their behavior when they are getting cold. You can start little by little as soon as they get some feathers. Since they do better in cold than heat, they'll be ready for the coop sooner. Actually I took them out for short periods in the middle of February when they were two weeks old or so; just picked my weather.

I don't brood them any more, I let broodies handle that, in the cooler months.