Would like ideas for brooder in outbuilding

[heronz]

I live in New England and want to get my chicks out of my house ASAP.
Due to nasal issues and a new baby in the family.
We have a lot of chicks just shipped in.
Would like to have a brooder in the shed that will be warm and predator proof but worried about being able to keep them warm enough especially at night.
Anybody have ideas?

 

[Fred's Hens]

There's lots of ways to make a pen or "cave" in an out building to brood outside. Thousands of us never brood indoors, ever.

Here's what I did this past winter. Hatched chicks in January.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/735392/redneck-fungshui-brooding-17-degree-temperatures

 

[Judy]

You'd be in great shape if you had an old fashioned brooder! They were a sort of flat, wide metal hood, raised several inches with a heat source in the middle, and open at the edges, kind of shaped like an upside down dinner plate. The idea is they can be as warm or as col as they wish by moving toward or away from the heat source. Food and water were not under the hood, so they had to venture out to eat and drink. I'm sure they were usually in a barn.

You'll just have to set up whatever you can, and try to gauge the temp before the chicks arrive. You wouldn't be the first to use some outdoor extension cords differently than they were intended.... Just double hang your heat lams(s) to be quite certain they can't fall on the litter.

I won't brood in the house. The last time I had chicks, temps ranged around 40-70. I just hung a heat lamp and spread plenty of hay around, for snuggling into. They thrived, except for the one who became dinner for a skinny rat snake that got in through the wire. At 3 weeks I removed the heat lamp, because they were sleeping several feet from it, as far as they could get, in a little huddle. They are hardier than we think they are.

The hardest time for them is the first 48 hours or so, til they recover from shipping stress. You'll need to watch them pretty closely, for pasty butt and clean water, wherever they are. By the time they have recovered, you'll be able to tell what they need by how they behave. If they pile one on top of the other, they are too cold. If they can get away from the heat, you won't have a problem with their getting too hot, which actually is more often a problem with chicks in brooders. There is not a large margin between comfortably warm and overheated to death. If they chirp really loudly, something is wrong -- frightened, hot, cold, hungry, you name it. Mostly they should run around, explore, cheep quietly, and sleep a lot in short periods. They will fall asleep suddenly, on top of another one, in the food or water, cuddled next to each other in groups, etc.

 

[Judy]

I'm so glad Fred posted that for you. He's got a lot more experience than I!