Using a heat plate outside for baby chicks?

[Morrigan]

I should add, they are 3 weeks old now, and I've already moved them into the coop. They are well feathered and seem very hardy.

 

[aer11]

I've brooded outside with heating plates twice now.

The first time I did it much like you did, inside for two weeks, then in an outside brooder with the heating plate. It worked out fine, but setting up two brooders, and having chicks in the house wasn't ideal.

The second time, I put them in an outside brooder with a heating plate on day 1. The brooder was an old rabbit hutch that we insulated around 3 sides, and then I loosely draped a towel over the front at night to keep out drafts. I was paranoid, so I also put a cozy-coop heating plate along one side, in addition to the brooding plate. Temps were down into the lows 40s that first night. When I went out to check there were the chicken at first light, and there they were bouncing happily around.

Having done it both ways, I wouldn't go back to inside brooding again. Either way, I recommend putting a pan of dirt/clump of sod from your yard with them from the beginning.

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Thank you for your reply.

Unrelated to my original question, but what sort of insulation did you use around your hutch? I have a pvc and wire mesh cage that I built for them and keep them in for the first 8 weeks. I never thought of just adding some insulation to the outside to keep down drafts and keep in warmth.

Edited to add: also, why do you recommend dry clod of dirt/sod from the yard? Just to get them familiar with their end environment?

 

[Morrigan]

The insulation was 1 1/2 inch foam board. The only problem was that the chicks liked to peck at it, and I had to move it back about 1/2 inch from the hutch using nails as spacers I'm going cover the board in fabric before I use the brooder next time.

The dirt/clod is to give them early exposure to whatever microbes live in your soil, so the chicks can develop immunity to it. I had always noticed that chicks raised by broody hens out there amongst all the dirt and poop always looked more robust and healthy then the chicks I had raised in a scrupulously clean brooder. Then I read hear from other members about the benefits of putting the dirt in the brooder. So, I just scooped up a pan of soil from my chicken yard and put it in.

 

[Morrigan]

Here's a link to an article discussing the add-a-clump of grass idea. Make sure you also put some chick grit in the brooder at the same time.

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-putting-sod-in-your-brooder-will.html

Since there were no clumps of grass left in my chickens yard, I went with plain dirt -- although I did put in a clump of weeds (of a kind that I know my chickens like to eat), after a few days and they pretty much stripped it bare.

 

[aer11]

Here's a link to an article discussing the add-a-clump of grass idea. Make sure you also put some chick grit in the brooder at the same time.

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-putting-sod-in-your-brooder-will.html

Since there were no clumps of grass left in my chickens yard, I went with plain dirt -- although I did put in a clump of weeds (of a kind that I know my chickens like to eat), after a few days and they pretty much stripped it bare.

Thank you! I can't believe how much I have learned from these posts. Thank you!!