Day old chicks in outdoor brooder?

[EmmaDonovan]

The outdoor brooder is solid wood on the top and bottom and sides. The front and back are mostly hardware cloth. It is 8' long by 3.5' wide and 3' tall.

It sits about three feet off the ground against a wall corner and partially under an overhang. The back is against the wall (a few inches away from it, for air circulation) and we have access via doors in front.

It has two 10"x10" brooder plates with feathers and pine shavings over puppy pads. We clean it daily.

Our daytime temperatures are mid 60s to mid 80s. Nighttime temps are upper 40s to upper 50s. We have had a little rain but we don't get storms or freezing rain/sleet/snow this time of year.

When it rains we put a tarp loosely over the brooder, mostly to protect the wood (it is painted on the outside). There is still plenty of ventilation, and rain cannot get inside the brooder.

We have six chicks who were two weeks old when we got them. They are almost three weeks old now. They have been doing fine outside.

We are getting nine more chicks this weekend. They will be one day old.

All of the chicks are standard sized breeds (Bielefelder, RIR, Easter egger, black austrolorp, white leghorn).

Two questions:

1. Is it warm enough to keep day-old chicks in the outdoor brooder?
2. Is it okay to add day-old chicks to the three-week-old chicks?

 

[azygous]

Yes and yes.

The rule of thumb is you may safely add day old chicks to any chicks under age four weeks. Just be sure there is lots of room for the smalls to outrun any older bullies, though this usually isn't a problem at this age.

Your temperatures are well within safety as long as cold drafts are blocked and the chicks don't become wet, causing them to lose body heat.

I've been brooding outdoors with temps down into the 30s and daytime temps as low as 50. Day-old chicks do just fine as long as they have access to a heat source to regulate their body heat.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I made it a slower process than it needed to be but ultimately I gained confidence to brood outdoors. A heat source is needed for sure but being inside your home is not needed. These are great reads and are the reason I tried and succeeded. No farm animals in my house ever again. Happier me and happier them!! You got this!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors.68067/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. Is it warm enough to keep day-old chicks in the outdoor brooder?

It doesn't matter what temperature it is outside of the brooder when your chicks are in the brooder. Many of us keep chicks outside when the temperature outside is below freezing. It depends on how your brooder is set up.

I want one area of the brooder to be warm enough. For day-olds that means at least 90 Fahrenheit (32 C). I use a heat lamp so an area is warmed with it getting cooler the further away from the heat you get. I don't use a heat plate or heat mat, I'm not sure how exact you have to get with those. I'd assume you have some tolerance with those. I also want an area of the brooder where it is cooler. What you want to avoid is overheating them. Sometimes the far reaches of my 3' x 6' brooder has ice or frost. The chicks don't spend much time there, they pretty much stay where it is warmer. That does not mean they stay where it is toasty all the time, they don't. As they get older they spend a lot of time in the cooler areas and go back to the heat only when they need to warm up. They do tend to sleep in warmer areas.

In addition to a warm spot and a cool spot, you need to block any breezes where the chicks are. With your brooder I'd want something blocking wind on the lower portion of the front and back.

2. Is it okay to add day-old chicks to the three-week-old chicks?

Each of my chicks and chickens is an individual. They don't all follow the same rules. I had a two week old chick kill its sibling, one it hatched with and had spent two weeks with. Then it started on a second sibling. No reason I could see, it just decided to.

Sometimes you can mix chicks of different ages and it isn't a problem. Sometimes you can wind up with injured or dead chicks. It helps to have a lot of room like you do but I can't give you guarantees. Sometimes the older chicks will bully and attack the younger. Sometimes they mother them. Sometimes they leave them alone. All I can suggest is to try it and observe. Make your decisions on what you see.

Many people would house the younger next to the older where they can see each other but not get at each other for a week so they get used to each other. I believe this can help. Good luck however you try it.