What do I do with my chicks who keep flying out of the brooder?

[Chasingcars]

I have a pair of 3 week chicks and a single 4 week chick. Can I put them outside permanently in their mini coop? Was going to put them in there for a few weeks then into the big coop with my other two hens. In Florida and lows wont get under 60 till this weekend (then low 50s). Had them outside all day yesterday and they seemed fine. Have heat on them in the garage at night. They are making a mess and outgrowing their brooder.

I have a couple of videos of my chicks being raised outside, in a brooder pen within the run, no heat lamps, ducking under their Mama Heating Pad exactly as they do under a broody hen. THEY decide when they want to warm up, not me or some chart. THEY decide if the tidbits on the ground are edible, not me. They don't live in a box, but outside among the flock. They run around exploring and keeping themselves totally entertained. They learn to be chickens by watching the experts. The only difference between the chicks I raise this way and those raised under a broody hen is that the heating pad cave doesn't move around. It's always there in the same spot!

Be happy to post a video if anyone would like to see it.

Bravo you! I love it when it’s as close to ‘ natural ‘ as possible...I am going to work on brooding outside from my next hatch ..
As the tough love element of putting them outside from 3-4wks is paramount in my plan to raise happy healthy hens that can cope with English weather and not have weak immune systems ..actually raising them outside would be even better!
Please please post your video

 

[Blooie]

I would love to see a video! And I was thinking about brooding outside in the run, but the weather is completely unpredictable where I live

Our weather is too. When it's normal "chick season" in spring, we are still at 20 degrees, dropping into the teens. The first year I had chicks we got our last snowfall on June 6th! So it's a real leap of faith to take these tiny critters, put them outside in the cold, cruel world, and try to duplicate a Mama Hen as closely as possible. But I've said this a million times, and I'll keep saying it. A 2 pound hen can do this with no books, no experts, no charts, no thermometers, and do it well. They eat what she eats...dirt, bugs and all. She's not peeling, coring and chopping apples for them. She has no night lights under her wings. Why do we do it so differently and think we're doing it better.

I'll post a couple of videos for you. I've reached the point now where I'm going to start asking first, because I seem to just thrust these videos into threads and they've been seen by so many people now I can never remember who has and who has not, and who might be interested and who might be thinking, "There goes Blooie again!"

 

[lazy gardener]

I would love to see a video! And I was thinking about brooding outside in the run, but the weather is completely unpredictable where I live

MHP system laughs in the face of unpredictable weather. As long as you have electricity, MHP does the job, and she does it well. Give those chicks a predator proof, weather proof, dry, not drafty place. Give them a MHP, and they will thrive, no matter what the unpredictable weather throws at them.

 

[ayamEC]

Thanks everyone. I put the brooder in the shower and they love exploring it when they fly out. I also added perches and the chicks hop up and down on them all day.

 

[llombardo]

Thanks everyone. I put the brooder in the shower and they love exploring it when they fly out. I also added perches and the chicks hop up and down on them all day.

I ended up keeping the brooder and chicks in the bathroom on the floor and the ducks have the bathtub. The chicks are very interested in the ducks and try to visit them, but the shower door is shut

 

[Dancing Bee]

Thanks, Blooie, for sharing your videos. I really appreciated seeing them. I'm new, totally new, and am planning to have my (soon to arrive) chicks out in the empty coop with just a mama style heater. Glad to see how well that works.

 

[Blooie]

You are so welcome. We have an active thread, Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder, which you can find by clicking on the “Search” tab, and we’d be happy to help and answer questions as they come up. There are a couple of articles on raising chicks outdoors as well that can found by searching, one by me and one by @azygous. Hers is more concise, but I was first. I don’t visit hers too often - I get a bad case of coop/brooder envy when I do. Mine isn’t as nice as hers, but is in line with what most people have so it balances out. Oh, and I stole her portal doors!