Topic of the Week - Moving chicks out of the brooder and into the coop

[igorsMistress]

My first time around it was cold and wet so our chicks were brooded indoors. They went outside to their yard regularly until they were 8 weeks or so, then went out to the coop permanently. I didn't add a light, just kept them in the coop for a week. I introduced them to their run area first, then let them into the rest of the yard.

I'm currently brooding 4 chicks outside. We kept them inside for two weeks with a heat lamp for the first week. They went outside at about 3 or 4 weeks old and I was happy to have them out.
We built a temporary coop and run for these chicks right next to the coop. The enclosed portion is the same as what they had inside. We put them in the covered area just before sundown for about a week or so before they got it.

 

[TomZilla43]

I brooded my first chicks in the house... in the basement... in a tractor I built. NEVER AGAIN would I brood chicks in the house. Second batch... in the garage which is under the bedroom end of the house. Still too close for comfort. I have asthma, and even in the garage, the dust was too much.

Along came the introduction of MHP brooding on BYC. My friend @Blooie gave me the confidence to try this method, and I never looked back. My chicks are now brooded outside in a grow out 2 level cattle panel coop. I keep them inside (in the garage) for a couple of days to ensure that they are all eating well, using MHP correctly. Then, I take them and their MHP out to the loft of the CP coop. Never again will I use a heat lamp. This spring, I brooded 48 chicks with 2 Sunbeam XPress XL.

They grow very fast. The only precautions I take are checking on them to be sure the MHP is adjusted to the right height and that they are all using it correctly. Occasionally one or more will get confused and hunker down for the night in a corner. But, with a lot of chicks, even on a cold night, that might not be much of an issue after they are a couple of weeks old. By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, I open up the loft (4 x 8) and give them access to the lower level (8 x 12). They explore the entire enclosure, and initially need reminders to go up to the loft to sleep at night. By 4 - 5 weeks of age, they are completely weaned from MHP.

It's normal for chicks to go through a lot of complaining as they bed down for the night. IMO, it's most likely b/c they don't have a broody hen. Life can be pretty scary when you're a little, especially when it gets dark, and Mama is not there to scare away the monsters.

I maybe the only clueless one, but what is MHP Brooding?

 

[TomZilla43]

Oops it posted my question in with your original copy, in case you missed the question at the bottom I was wondering what MHP Brooding is?

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

Oops it posted my question in with your original copy, in case you missed the question at the bottom I was wondering what MHP Brooding is?

“Mother Heating Pad”. There is a thread on using a heating pad cave instead of heat lamps to brood chicks.

 

[Birdinhand]

We had a great time with brooding chicks indoors the first time or two so that the kids had 24/7 access to the cute little fluff balls, but boy howdy did it create a mess of dust and smell indoors. When we did brood indoors, we moved them out at about 5 weeks. Now we brood in the coop with a little hatch door between the brooder and the rest of the hens. I raise the bar as the chicks grow, preventing the hens from getting in but allowing the chicks a chance to acclimate with the hens a bit here and there but still have a refuge/food/water of their own for when things get pecky. I gave up on heat lamps and use MHP's/Mother heating pads exclusively and wow what a difference that has made https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/. chances are we will never brood inside again, there is something about having open access to a lot of space and fresh air and dirt to kick around that gives the chicks the best start they can have.

 

[ourrune]

I personally have a couple hens , speckled Sussex to be exact that are mean to any new members. I’m unsure on what to do. I have three older hens two pullets and a female chick. The female chick has been moved in with the two pullets and they accepted her fine.. I let them all but the chick free range at day and I see the two twins picking on everyone. They haven’t even laid eggs in a long time since we moved. I’m wondering if anyone knows what I should do about merging everyone safety. I tried to put in an Easter egger once before and she was terrified of them she used to sleep on top of the nesting box outside of coop in the run to stay away from them. (The raccoons got her one day :,( and she was my best chicken now no blue eggs) I don’t want all of my chickens to just be scared and terrified forever. The Easter egger was in with them for around 2 years and they never stopped picking on her. She used to be the sweetest chicken until they picked on her too much. Is there anything I can do besides get rid of my two older hens?

 

[ourrune]

I personally have a couple hens , speckled Sussex to be exact that are mean to any new members. I’m unsure on what to do. I have three older hens two pullets and a female chick. The female chick has been moved in with the two pullets and they accepted her fine.. I let them all but the chick free range at day and I see the two twins picking on everyone. They haven’t even laid eggs in a long time since we moved. I’m wondering if anyone knows what I should do about merging everyone safety. I tried to put in an Easter egger once before and she was terrified of them she used to sleep on top of the nesting box outside of coop in the run to stay away from them. (The raccoons got her one day :,( and she was my best chicken now no blue eggs) I don’t want all of my chickens to just be scared and terrified forever. The Easter egger was in with them for around 2 years and they never stopped picking on her. She used to be the sweetest chicken until they picked on her too much. Is there anything I can do besides get rid of my two older hens?

I ask because I can’t keep my pullets in their brooder forever lol

 

[Birdinhand]

I ask because I can’t keep my pullets in their brooder forever lol

I have resorted to getting rid of the alpha hens if they were consistently mean and that can work. I don't know of a way to integrating them to overcome such a situation when an alpha hen or two are truly mean other than giving them to away to a friend, which sometimes forces them out of their alpha position where they are not such problem children.

 

[aart]

Have come to brooding chicks in coop using a heating pad and integrating with flock at about 4 weeks old. This has worked out fantastic!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
Kinda of a bummer that my 'Cadillac brooder' only gets used for a week once a year,
but I sure don't miss the mess, noise, and stink.

 

[ChickenFajita6]

We are still new chicken people. We started with our first chicks back in March, they were 3 days old. We set up the brooder in our garage. We had a small bin at first, that within a week we knew wouldn't work so hubby built a big one.
The main thing holding our chicks up from moving into the coop was building the coop! I had the pressure on my husband because by about mid May when the girls were right at 2 months old, the heat had really turned up where we live and I felt they needed out of the garage asap. They made their move out at the end of May, so they were almost 12 weeks old.
I started taking them outdoors around 6-7 weeks old for brief playtime periods, in a smaller fenced area of our yard. We increased their outside time as they got older, and moving them into the coop was easy. We followed the advice of leaving them locked inside it for a day or two before allowing them into the run, so they could acclimate themselves (and honestly, hubby finished the coop before the run, so he was still putting the final touches on the run after they made their move to the coop).

Now we are adding a few new babies. I pulled the brooder back into the garage and got it set up, and they will spend some time there. They're 3 weeks old now, and I want them separate for at least 2 weeks just to assess their health before they even meet my other girls. Once they seem good there, I will turn my other girls loose to play in the yard, and put the new little bitties into the fenced area, and into the coop so they can explore the surroundings, and maybe meet through the fences. Then I'll just let them all play together, and take it from there on how everyone is behaving together to decide when they'll move to the coop.
Now that the weather is cooling off, I'm hesitant to put them out there too young. The days are fine, but we are getting some chilly nights and I want to make sure they have their feathers. I'm hoping around 8-10 weeks old they'll be ready!