Reasons for Tossing Out Your Indoor Brooder and Start Raising Your Chicks Outdoors

I loved this article, and I'm going to try this with my chicks that are hatching today!!

Great new perspective! An interesting idea.

Great article! It explains the benefits of raising your chicks in close proximity of other chickens and integrating them with the adults

I went the classic route with my current first batch of chicks, brooder in the house with the lamp. After talking to friends and reading here, I will definitely be brooding chicks outside for any future batches. This is a great article that outlines the advantages.

Loved these ideas, make total sense. Thanks so much

Brilliant.
I’m hoping to turn around some of my chicks from being afraid of me by changing the height of the brooder.
thank you!

This is a fantastic and educational read that motivated me to move my 3 day old chicks outside with the MHP. Pictures are another great addition that I really appreciate in threads like this. Just wonderful!!!

Love this!!! So well thought out & explained!! Rethinking my whole brooder setup. Thank you!!

Good tips on brooding chicks!

Exceptional article!!!! Your brooding methods clearly meet the needs of chicks. As humans, we often think we are helping them, but in reality, we are hurting them in the long run.
This is a MUST READ for all chicken owners!

This is a wonderfully written article full of logical explanations and fantastic suggestions on how to make this work! Awesome job! Now I only wish I could bring myself to let my babies out of my sight long enough to give it a try!

We are doing this. Our 7 week old chicks are starting to want to roost with the big chickens and this has been a much better experience than indoor brooding in most ways. They didn't have any issues with temps in the teens under their brooder plate and are all doing quite well. We will never do it any other way! Thank you!!

Spectacular article. You've made a believer out of me. I will have to do some thinking asked to how to apply this method here in Arizona where it is hot hot hot by the time my chicks arrive, but I think it can be managed.

Very Very Helpful

Fabulous and inspiring article! I love the concept of not terrifying the chicks with hands coming down from above.

One thing that might help for things like this (both for articles and comments) is for people to mention their average last frost date. That helps everyone put things in perspective, when talking about outdoor conditions and activities.

I have my very first batch of 32 chicks coming from Cackle Hatchery at the beginning of April (25 CX, 7 Dark Brahmas). My average last frost date in the northern Shenandoah Valley is April 22. With both a heat blanket brooder and a 250w heat lamp, I was going to raise them in the barn, inside a doubled cardboard "Chick Corral" (just a strip of cardboard). I'm going to experiment with it this weekend, but I might run an extension cord out to the coop, and see if I can maintain a stable temperature in there. If I can, the chicks will have a warm brooder that is open on one side, where they can venture out and see the world outside the coop (but still behind hardware cloth). They will also naturally explore the coop as they get bigger and the days get warmer. When they are really comfortable in the coop, I'll hook up the door, so they can go out.

In the meantime, the mess the chicks make will just be the start of the DLM in the coop.

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences!

Excelent writing, enjoyable yo read , beautiful photos, valuable learning tool.

I do not have chickens yet...I am still reading, learning, and making decisions about how I want to do things. This method just seems so "right". My background is in dogs....and I work very hard at getting pups out into the world on "field trips"....to expose them to tons of new places, people, sounds, underfootings, and experiences. I firmly believe this results in a calm, confident dog who takes new things in stride. So the ideas presented here make perfect sense! This is a much more natural way....and the benefits are obvious. I'm convinced and I thank you for this article....it has changed my thinking and my future chicks will benefit.

I've successfully raised and integrated two batches of chicks and can't thank you enough for giving me confidence! I've been referring this article to many new members and can't believe I haven't reviewed your article yet. This has been a life saver!