Baby Chicks In The Winter ?

[chickenlover89]

I am planning to get a bunch of new baby chicks in the mail this winter, and i was wondering what peoples methods are for raising them in the winter. I have heard of people who raise chicks in the summer without a heat lamp and let them use body heat, but can i do that in the winter? thanks

BTW- i have cold winters up where i live.

 

[chickenlover89]

oh, I forgot, I will be getting eight.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

I wouldn't do it personally, but I've never tried it to be able to say for sure that you would have casualties in an area with cold winters.

I recently bought a Brinsea ecoglow 20 and absolutely love it. It uses significantly less electricity and the chicks seem to like having the place to snuggle. It seems more natural to me. I like it a lot better than the heat lamps. Good luck with your chicks whatever you decide.

 

[chickenlover89]

I wouldn't do it personally, but I've never tried it to be able to say for sure that you would have casualties in an area with cold winters.

I recently bought a Brinsea ecoglow 20 and absolutely love it. It uses significantly less electricity and the chicks seem to like having the place to snuggle. It seems more natural to me. I like it a lot better than the heat lamps. Good luck with your chicks whatever you decide.

thank you, do you put the Brinsea ecoglow 20 on something to hang over your brooder just like the heat lamp?

 

[centrarchid]

You can do it even with smaller groups. Brooder rear them until quail sized where head are covered in feathers. Start weaning them of heat lamp at about 3 weeks. By weaning I mean pull it back. By time they are quail sized they can handle sub-zero temperatures easily so long as not exposed to direct wind or wet and otherwise in good condition weight as in not skinny. Good nutrition is important. Use quality chick feed and make certain it is always available as such smaller birds need more frequent fillups. Try to move chicks out on a relatively warm day. Stay on your toes in regards to predator management. You will have lots of sweet smelling feed out at time predators like raccoons may be hardup for eats.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Actually you don't have to hang it at all. It's just set into the brooder with your chicks and it's really a warming plate with platform legs to keep it off the bedding. It's warm but won't burn or cause fires, which is a feature I really like. It's adjustable for height and the sides can be adjusted independently. I have one side set higher than the other so they can choose the amount of contact they want with it, or they can hang out around the edge. They come out when they are hungry or thirsty though, for sure. I figured it would pay for itself in savings! They come in two sizes and I ended up getting two of the smaller sizes so I could use it for different hatches if I needed to. The room is much less sweltering overall too. So far there has been no issues with pasty butt either. Bonus!

 

[chickenlover89]

You can do it even with smaller groups. Brooder rear them until quail sized where head are covered in feathers. Start weaning them of heat lamp at about 3 weeks. By weaning I mean pull it back. By time they are quail sized they can handle sub-zero temperatures easily so long as not exposed to direct wind or wet and otherwise in good condition weight as in not skinny. Good nutrition is important. Use quality chick feed and make certain it is always available as such smaller birds need more frequent fillups. Try to move chicks out on a relatively warm day. Stay on your toes in regards to predator management. You will have lots of sweet smelling feed out at time predators like raccoons may be hardup for eats.

so, you mean i can leave the chicks without a heat lamp from the time i get them even if it's a cold winter?

 

[chickenlover89]

Actually you don't have to hang it at all. It's just set into the brooder with your chicks and it's really a warming plate with platform legs to keep it off the bedding. It's warm but won't burn or cause fires, which is a feature I really like. It's adjustable for height and the sides can be adjusted independently. I have one side set higher than the other so they can choose the amount of contact they want with it, or they can hang out around the edge. They come out when they are hungry or thirsty though, for sure. I figured it would pay for itself in savings! They come in two sizes and I ended up getting two of the smaller sizes so I could use it for different hatches if I needed to. The room is much less sweltering overall too. So far there has been no issues with pasty butt either. Bonus!

thanks, i might try that!

 

[donrae]

so, you mean i can leave the chicks without a heat lamp from the time i get them even if it's a cold winter?

No, not at all. He said to brooder rear them, ie in a brooder with a heat source, until they're feathered. Start pulling the lamp back around 3 weeks.

Where do you live? "Cold" winters can be pretty subjective

Where are you planning to brood your chicks? If you plan to have them in a house or garage, the time of year really doesn't matter as it's fairly temp controlled. If you have them in a less insulated shed or coop, you'll need to be sure they're dry and not windy.

 

[Sunksschicken]

I live in the mountains of central Montana it can get really cold here like -22 sometimes and dump 4 feetnof snow I have heat lamps cause other wise they'd freeze too like the eggs. I also use bales of hay have them around the coop for the extra heat. Other wise if it didn't get cold here i wouldn't use the heat lamps..