Where to brood chicks

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gardnerfam

gardnerfam

Hatching
5 Years
Mar 12, 2014
3
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Hi all ~ new to this whole chicken thing. Loving it so far, with 13 sweet little baby chicks - 6 Rhode Island Reds and 7 Red Ranger Broilers. They are almost a week old. My question is this: we are brooding them in our basement, and they are doing great, but my husband would like to move the brooder outdoors to the coop. Do you think this is ok to do, as long as we have the heat lamp out there with them? Thanks so much for any info...
 
As long as they have the heat lamp all should be good i have done this myself with chicks the same age and they were fine, but if the heat lamp breaks or the bulb blows during the night you could have a problem this didnt happen to me though.
 
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Depends on your weather, and where you plan on brooding them. Chicks are very susceptible to dying in drafts. So I would advice if you do brood outside, to use a heated shed or something similar. As temps drop at night, so will your temp of your brooder. So a heated area will keep the temp in the brooder from falling to far. Make sure to use a brooder with 4 solid walls and a solid floor. Cold air has a way of rushing to meet hot air and this will create a draft that could kill the babies. Make sure the area is also safe from predators and if using a heat lamp, that it is permanently attached so it can not fall into the brooder or anywhere else to start a fire.

Good luck with your new babies and welcome to BYC!
 
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I'm not sure how long I had my chicks inside last spring but it wasn't too long. I put them in a wire dog crate, wrapped in chicken wire with cardboard in between the wires to keep them draft free. I put the brooder up on the garage wall using big brackets and hung my heat lamp above (made sure it couldn't fall). I did have one night when the light blew out and the chicks were very upset come morning but they all were fine.
 
TwoCrows said:
images


Depends on your weather, and where you plan on brooding them. Chicks are very susceptible to dying in drafts. So I would advice if you do brood outside, to use a heated shed or something similar. As temps drop at night, so will your temp of your brooder. So a heated area will keep the temp in the brooder from falling to far. Make sure to use a brooder with 4 solid walls and a solid floor. Cold air has a way of rushing to meet hot air and this will create a draft that could kill the babies. Make sure the area is also safe from predators and if using a heat lamp, that it is permanently attached so it can not fall into the brooder or anywhere else to start a fire.

Good luck with your new babies and welcome to BYC!
Click to expand...

Good advice - welcome to BYC.
 
welcome-byc.gif
Most people do not move their chicks until they are fully feathered out but, that also depends on weather. We have no idea what your climate is like. I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

I answer many new members and they frequently begin with " we lost ----- chicks" - it gets to be a real downer by the end of the day. Infants are infants no matter what species.
 
Thank you all for your replies and helpful information. We live in central Washington. At night right now, it's dropping to 30-40. Daytime temps are near 60. My husband built what we affectionately term "the fort knox of chicken coops," so we're not too concerned about predators, just mostly temperatures. It's near our home, and well sheltered, and we will have the heat lamp in there. Still think I might wait another week or so, though...
 
TwoCrows said:
images


Depends on your weather, and where you plan on brooding them. Chicks are very susceptible to dying in drafts. So I would advice if you do brood outside, to use a heated shed or something similar. As temps drop at night, so will your temp of your brooder. So a heated area will keep the temp in the brooder from falling to far. Make sure to use a brooder with 4 solid walls and a solid floor. Cold air has a way of rushing to meet hot air and this will create a draft that could kill the babies. Make sure the area is also safe from predators and if using a heat lamp, that it is permanently attached so it can not fall into the brooder or anywhere else to start a fire.

Good luck with your new babies and welcome to BYC!  
Click to expand...


Ya sorry forgot to mention mine were outside in a brooder inside my closed shed :)
 

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