5 week old chicks ready to go outside?

I'm brooding out 26 chicks, 4 days old, as I always do. Outside in the unheated garage or barn. It has been 15F-17F the last two nights. 50-60 during the day. They are, as always, just fine. We never, ever brood indoors, due to the dust and smells.

The "where" of a brooder is just about irrelevant. As long as there is shelter, protection and a "hot-spot" of 85-90 degrees for them to warm themselves. At 4 weeks, I'll reduce the wattage from 250watts to 150 watts. At six weeks, they'll go to their grow out pen outdoors. Typical early May days are 65F and nights around 35. They'll be just fine. Just like all the other hatches before them.

Fred's Hens said:

The "where" of a brooder is just about irrelevant. As long as there is shelter, protection and a "hot-spot"...to warm themselves.

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I guess this was what I was getting at. There are just too many variables to give a set answer. If the stall has dead air space in it (cold nightly winds or possible rain can't blow on them), they would probably do fine outside nights now with your lamp. The lamp will give them a place to huddle under for warmth. At 40 degrees, I'd probably take 2 weeks of gradually raising it up (or reducing wattage) to wean them off. They definitely need to be out during the day (without the lamp) to get use to things. Again, at this age, they'd live through a 40 degree night, but if they're use to 70 or 80 under a lamp, it would be really hard on them to have to suddenly go to 40 degrees without building up to it.

So while part of my day today was doing an big family Easter party at the family ponds, the other part was working with my chickens! My brother in law who does chickens a LOT (particularly show chickens) was here to give me some counsel and advice. I moved my 13 baby chicks outside to the real pen, and I took some pictures.

This is my entire chicken run at the moment. I know it's not pretty, but it's sturdy, and most of the materials were things I scavenged from trash piles, so it was cheap! My 5-week chicks are in the largest section of the run, which is in the center. There are two sections to its left, and one section on the right of it.



Side view, the opposite side is pretty much the same: All blocked off except a corner to let air and sun in.



So I let my chickens loose in there today for the first time, and they seemed just fine. They are a bit nervous obviously, but they seemed to enjoy the open space.







My brother in law seems extremely confident that they will be perfectly fine out there overnight now, even without a heat source. But I still ran some extension cords and am looking to hang my heat lamp in there before dark. I wanted to post the pics to give everyone an idea of what I'm dealing with though since I'm still a novice at raising chicks. I also checked weather, and it'll be 50F the next couple nights, but in about 6-7 days it may drop as low as 42 or 40.

Well...it's been a few days. Are they lovin' the space??? Do they have it all pooped up yet???? LOL

Indeed they are lol, they do a lot of exploring and digging around in the dirt lol. The first time they heard the rooster in the stall next to them crow they sorta jumped, but they seem to be used to it now. Last night I went to check on them after dark (it was still warm outside though) and they were all huddled up together in a corner of the stall, no where near the heat lamp. I am leaving it on for a few more nights though in case they need it come 3 in the morning when the temp drops.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7367383/width/200/height/400[/IMG

Are mine ready for outdoor life?

tuckertori said:

Can you take them outside for a few hours during the day? I live in Washington and have taken my girls out for a couple hours a day when it has been warm enough for them and then brought them back in. I put them in a basket and cover it with a towel to transport them. It has worked for 3 outdoor excursions and they are tuckered out when we come back inside!

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That's exactly what I did for a week. Little daytime field trips on hot days to fenced off portion of the big girl chicken run. It worked out great, and the chicks enjoyed it and slept very well back in their little tub on my kitchen island, which is where I had them with a nighttime heat lamp. I raised the lamp each week to lower their temp by 5 degrees. Until the temp matched the outside for short runarounds.

tuckertori said:

Can you take them outside for a few hours during the day? I live in Washington and have taken my girls out for a couple hours a day when it has been warm enough for them and then brought them back in. I put them in a basket and cover it with a towel to transport them. It has worked for 3 outdoor excursions and they are tuckered out when we come back inside!

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My granddaughter transports our little chicks in a soft carrier...something like you would put birds in...like cockatiels. It's cute....pink...zippered at both ends and it has a mesh covering so they can see out.

Apyl said:

My 25 chicks have been out in the coop since they were 2 1/2 weeks old. They are now 2 days why of being 6 weeks old and still outside. I'm in Wisconsin and it gets 30's at night so I have their lamp still in the coop.

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I am in TX, 100 degree days, 70 at night, they are in garage now. I have 13, 5 being keets. Want to know if I can out them in the coop at 4 weeks?