Raising Chicks in Winter?

[Hufflefluff]

Hello, everyone!

In a horrible twist of fate, after free-ranging safely for three years our flock of eight was all killed in one night (probably by coyotes?). This was two weeks ago, and after cleaning everything up and putting away all of our chicken stuff we're starting to think about getting chicks again. The issue: We live in Colorado, about a quarter of the way between Denver and Colorado Springs, and our weather will remain below freezing at night into mid- to late- March. We'll most likely get snows well into March as well.
This puts a damper on our whole "get chicks" plan- if we got them now (a feed store near us sells them year- round) they'd be ready to outside in January, and I don't this there's a good way to do that safely. Even if we waited month and got them in December, they'd be outside early March at the latest.
So, my question:

Is there a safe way to raise chicks in Winter, and put them outside while it's still cold? What are your experiences with this, if any? Recommendations?

Or is it better to wait, as hard as it is, and get chicks come Spring- probably March? I hate the idea of waiting a third of a year to interact with chickens again, but if that's best for them then we'll go that route.

(Note: We're planning on getting Brahmas, Cochins, and Wyandottes, all heavier breeds more suited for our winters. I don't know if that affects anything, but I thought I'd put it out there.)

Thank you for any advice!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chicks are a lot more hardy than most think. If you brood them starting at 90F the first week and drop the temp by about 5F each week, you can lose the heat completely at room temp by about week 4 or 5 and slowly expose them to outdoor temps. By 7 weeks they can handle most temps.
It is more about acclimation than absolute temps.
I have about 30 chicks outside now that range from 3 to 7 weeks. It was 23F two nights ago. It will be above freezing for the next week so I'm about to move a couple more just over a week old out with them today.

I used to raise chicks right out of the hatcher outside down to the 20s with the appropriate hover brooder. All they need is a very warm spot and lots of cool space, just the way a mother hen would do.

 

[Hufflefluff]

Chicks are a lot more hardy than most think. If you brood them starting at 90F the first week and drop the temp by about 5F each week, you can lose the heat completely at room temp by about week 4 or 5 and slowly expose them to outdoor temps. By 7 weeks they can handle most temps.
It is more about acclimation than absolute temps.
I have about 30 chicks outside now that range from 3 to 7 weeks. It was 23F two nights ago. It will be above freezing for the next week so I'm about to move a couple more just over a week old out with them today.

I used to raise chicks right out of the hatcher outside down to the 20s with the appropriate hover brooder. All they need is a very warm spot and lots of cool space, just the way a mother hen would do.

Thank you for your reply! What you said about "It is more about acclimation than absolute temps" is really interesting; I hadn't thought about it that way, but I'm sure you're right. That's just what I was hoping to hear

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Even if you take a mature LF chicken from indoor temps and thrust them out into a 10F or lower wind, it would be extremely stressful and possibly kill them. Acclimatizing is the key. That's one of the main reasons not to heat coops.
We have wild temp swings here and can go from 70s to 20s quickly. The birds don't even want to come outside for the first day.

 

[Folly's place]

If you can get chicks locally, it will be better than chancing shipping during the winter.
You will spend more on electricity brooding during cold weather, but they can be out there in the coop with either a heat lamp, or a heat plate (or hover brooder).
You'll have birds sooner, which is nice, but more expensive, and difficult.
There will likely be a much smaller breed selection available.
Spending the winter drooling over catalogs and pictures of breeds is fun! Mary

 

[GinaNew York]

Im in love with dark brahmas, they are a large breed good for cold and lay in winter check out heritage breeders here and get started with good stock. They come in white and buff as well

lovely temperments heres our girl from agway jersey giants are wonderful too gentle giants

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2 Jersey Giants are great. They're the only breed I could pick up out in the yard. I had blacks, whites and blues.
Here's a couple good breed selection charts.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[centrarchid]

Chicks are a lot more hardy than most think. If you brood them starting at 90F the first week and drop the temp by about 5F each week, you can lose the heat completely at room temp by about week 4 or 5 and slowly expose them to outdoor temps. By 7 weeks they can handle most temps.
It is more about acclimation than absolute temps.
I have about 30 chicks outside now that range from 3 to 7 weeks. It was 23F two nights ago. It will be above freezing for the next week so I'm about to move a couple more just over a week old out with them today.

I used to raise chicks right out of the hatcher outside down to the 20s with the appropriate hover brooder. All they need is a very warm spot and lots of cool space, just the way a mother hen would do.

Emphasize the dry. I make so they young birds can walk about on dry hay during the day and have hay in box they can snuggle on at night. The can handle cold temperatures, but keep wind off them. Be prepared to use more feed, and with dry feed, water needs will be increased so think about how to keep them in water when temperatures are low. My very young November hatch birds from a year or so back were by themselves as much as worry as all the rest of my flock combined.

What proved to be interesting is how the young birds treated treats put in a feeder next to the complete diet. They would consume the treats in low light levels. This may be important at feed needs are higher when it is cold and they have less daylight during the course of a 24-h cycle. Supplemental lighting might be smart.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Excellent points. One must keep bedding bone dry for chicks and feed available at all times.
Coccidiosis usually rears its ugly head when bedding gets wet and feeders empty, causing the chicks to peck around in the bedding. Coccidia can't complete their life cycle in the absence of moisture.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are a lot of variations that you could go through on how and where you brood them. We all have our opinions on what is the ”best” way but the reality is that we all do it our own way and generally have great success. I’ll tell you what I do but that doesn’t mean there are plenty of other perfectly good ways.

I always hatch my first chicks of the year in my incubator in either January or February, somewhere between 16 and 23 chicks. When I take them out of the incubator I put them in my 3’ x 6’ brooder permanently built in the coop. The idea of the brooder is that they need to be warm enough in the coldest conditions but cool enough in the warmest. If you are brooding in the house that’s not too hard to accomplish as your climate controlled temps are pretty steady. Outside I may have a low in the teens one night and a high in the 70’s a couple of days later. That’s a bit more challenging.

In the winter I wrap the brooder up pretty tightly but still leave a large area at the top open so I get good ventilation. I use heat lamps to keep one end toasty but some mornings I might find ice on the far end. I find straight out of the incubator the chicks are really good at regulating their heat if they have the option. By keeping one area warm enough and another area cool enough, I don’t have to worry about keeping any area a certain temperature. Many people would be surprised by how much time they spend in the cooler areas after the first few days. By playing in those cooler areas mine get acclimated.

If you brood outside you may have to deal with water freezing. I keep my water in the area heated by the heat lamps but there are plenty of other techniques to handle keeping water thawed if you provide heat another way.

I feed mine a 20% protein Chick Starter feed to help them feather out faster. After four weeks or whenever that bag of feed runs out I switch to a lower protein feed but they get good nutrition to help them get a good start.

To me there are two important considerations to an outside brooder or coop in winter. First you need to allow them to get out of a direct wind. Part of that is wind chill, but an even more important part is that they keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air inside their feathers and down. If they are in a breeze strong enough to ruffle feathers or down they can lose that insulation.

The other issue is dry. Chicks or chickens can get frostbite any time the temperature is below freezing, just like you can. If the air is dry they can handle temperatures really low but in moist air the danger from frostbite is elevated. Moisture can come from their breath, their poop, or maybe the waterer. The way you get rid of moisture is to have good ventilation. The way you provide good breeze protection yet allow for good ventilation is to have those openings above their heads. Always, no matter what time of the year, keep the bedding dry.

I’ve had chicks raised this way go through nights in the mid 20’s Fahrenheit when they were 5-1/2 weeks old with no supplemental heat. But let’s recap. They are acclimated, they have been fed well so they are fully feathered out, they have great breeze protection, and they have great ventilation up high.

If you brood inside you avoid a lot of these issues. Brooding in an attached garage may be somewhere in between, depends on the garage. Or maybe you have a basement. People that brood in other places often take them outside for a bit to acclimate them. They are often surprised at how well they can actually handle the cold.

As I said, there are all kinds of ways to brood in winter, location as well as what you use for a heat source. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. If you really want chicks now you can do it. The risks are higher in a really cold winter, what might be an inconvenience is summer could be fatal in brutally cold weather. I do it and several others do too, all with different methods.

Good luck however you decide. And if you do decide to go forward, decide on a method and ask for advice. With any of these there are little tricks that can make it easier and safer. For instance, with heat lamps, throw that clamp away so you are not tempted to use it and wire it in place so there is no way possible for it to fall. Whether you use heat plates, heating pads, hovers, emitters, or something else there are little tricks that can help you be safer.

Good luck however you decide.