43-49 day old chicks can they go outside?

kayla104

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 30, 2015
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0
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I have 12 chicks in my livingroom. They are outgrowing their triplex brooder. They are also starting to really smell lol. I would use a heat lamp. I might even use two at night. Our night temps are in the thirties, daytime temps are high 40's to 60's depending at least for next 10 days. They don't use heat lamp anymore in the house. The coop is all wood and the front run is closed in except for the door to keep out wind.





I removed third floor for pics.
 
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I let mine out at about 4 weeks, and they were fine. I think you might need a heat lamp for a couple weeks (in the coop) and you can take it out later. They are so cute!
 
Definitely! Everyone will be happier that way. They will be glad for more space. I doubt they need two heat lamps, and they shouldn't need one during the day at all.
 
Even newly hatched chicks can be brooded outside (that's how mama hens do it!). As long as they have a lamp (fake mama heater) for warming up under, and have a predator safe, draft free environment, they will be fine. Yours should just about be fully feathered out, so you might start transitioning them to cooler temps anyhow. So maybe in the coop with a small lamp (not a 250 - get smaller wattages from reptile sections of pet stores) for a week or two and then off the lamp? I'm sure they will love having a larger space to run and flap!
 
I have 23 Isa Browns, hatched 10/26, that were in a brooder in my unheated mudroom until the day after Thanksgiving. They are now are outside in an insulated coop with a nice thick layer of straw on the floor. They have a Sweeter Heater radiant heater that, honestly, they don't even go under anymore. They sleep at the opposite end of the coop! The front coop door is open during the day, even the cold crummy ones and they have the choice to go out if they want or stay in. It's almost a given that they will go out.

I had a hen hatch a chick in September and it was the first time I got to witness how a mama hen takes care of her chick. She took her outside on day two!!! Seemed crazy to me, but I learned that baby chicks are a bit sturdier than we give them credit for. Like others said, as long as they have a dry place out of the wind and weather with a heat source until they are feathered (around 6-8 weeks) they should be fine. And from what I've seen, mine much prefer to be outside.
 
I’ve had chicks less than 6 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20’s Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat in a coop with good ventilation up high but really good wind protection down where they were. Those chicks were raised in an outside brooder where I kept one end warm but the other cooled off quite a bit, sometimes there was ice on the far end on the really cold nights. So mine were acclimated.

Just for the record since you use days:
0 weeks = 1 to 7 days
1 week = 8 to 14 days
2 weeks = 15 to 21 days
3 weeks = 22 to 28 days
4 weeks = 29 to 35 days
5 weeks = 36 to 42 days
6 weeks = 43 to 49 days

Mine were in those temperatures at about 40 days with no heat, a week earlier than yours.

As long as you have decent ventilation and good breeze protection I’d expect yours to do fine. Try putting them out there during the day and see how they react. That might help your confidence. Even if you take them in at night they will start to acclimate even at the daytime temperatures.

If you use a heat lamp as you said you would there is absolutely no reason they can’t be out there. They could have been out there 43 to 49 days ago. As long as they have a warm place to go to they are great at self-regulating heat straight out of the incubator. That’s when mine go outside.
 
Thank you everyone. They are now outside. Took a bit since I wanted modifications done for my peace of mind that they would be warm. They love it but momma here misses them being in the house lol.
 
Congrats on getting them outside. Having them inside does get old real quick, doesn't it? I'm sure chicken math will catch up with you sooner or later, so I thought I'd give you a "next time" scenario. @Ridgerunner , myself, and many other people brood chicks directly outdoors in the coop from the start. Wow, is that ever easier!! You have be sensible and provide them a safe place where they can run for a quick warm-up, but it's surprising how little time they spend there. Ridgerunner uses a heat lamp system, others use a SweeterHeater, @aart uses a pseudo warming plate, and lots of us just use a heating pad and a wire frame covered with straw. Without exception we have found the chicks to be stronger, better able to cope with real life in the coop because there's no drastic transition period, and integration into the existing flock (now that you'll have one next time around!) is practically seamless! @azygous has an ingenious "portal system" in her setup that I'm copying the next time.....just a little door cut into the pen she uses as a brooder which can be opened or closed....chicks can get back in but the Bigs can't follow.

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

Cute chicks, by the way!
 
so I have six 5 1/2 week chicks and four 3 1/2 weeks olds. My coop is inside a "run in" shed for my horse, so imagine a one car garage. I live in Phoenix and it's been mid-high 30's at night. I put them out during the day today and they seem fine. Can I leave them out there now? I do not want to put a heat lamp out there, had a fire 2 years ago and the thought scares me to death.
 

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