When do you move your chicks out to the coop?

If you move them into an outside coop and put the lamp in there for them they should be fine. Heat is essential for the first 2 weeks, after that they are a bit tougher.

I am pretty new here too but i read  on here if they have all their feather everyplace they can go out .I think with the heat lamp if it keeps it 60 or over and you have turned the  heat lamp off in the house by then so  they are used to  70  inside or so  they would be fine at 5 weeks going out  if its not too cold and they have a heat  lamp .. as they have most of their feathers or mine did at 5 weeks

I read here that they are fine if its like 50 or above once they have feather maybe lower but not 30's so young

 

I think  they do need to start out during the warm parts of the day only  and work up to cool nights not just get flopped out to stay one day. forever. I started mine out on a warmer day 70's took them in at nightfall. and did that for about 4 -5 days or so before i let them stay out at night and picked a warmer night for their first night.   but i am in Mo.Warmer than Maine and ihave no heat lamp in this tractor coop

It  has gotten down to the 40s at night once even maybe high upper 30's but my girls were 7 weeks old  or older   and my tractor coop is small   i have 11 girls so i think they get a lot of self made heat in there.(no heat lamp)

Repeating what i heard on here If they cuddle together outside or fluff way out and sit ,cheep loudly in a forlorn way then its too cold for them.

You could Put the heat lamp on in the coop (no chickens in it  )and check  in the late evening  and very early morning  when its coldest like 5 or 6 what it gets down to in the coop with the lamp . That way  you can tell  what they are facing.

Get a second lamp if  you think its too cold

.I wouldnt let them get under 60's myself at 5 weeks  .i am sure no expert.

I'm in VT and wondering the same thing - my girls were 3 weeks last Friday, they have most of their feathers, and I've had to put a top on the brooder because they started flying out.  I figure once it's 60 or higher overnight, they'll be fine in the coop. 

 

It was in the 80s here last weekend, so they spent Saturday and Sunday outside a loved it!  On the flip side, it's made them a bit more restless being cooped up in the corner of the basement :/

Mine have been outside since 3 weeks old. They free-range and put themselves to be at night. They aren't sleeping with the big girls yet; i'll wait until they are closer in skze before removing all the barriers. They do roam the yard togerher and they walk in and out of the hens' run

ETA: sorry, was posting from my phone. It's upper 80s during the day, 50s at night this week. I had them in the basement in a wire dog crate. I removed the heat lamp when they were about 2 weeks old.


This is the first year I've let them free-range this early and they are growing HUGE!
Edited by dainerra - 5/23/12 at 3:23pm

Mine went out at 4 weeks. I have no heat or light in my coop. It has dropped to around 55 here at night. They huddle together at night and are just fine. Days are 70-80is and they spend lots of time out in their run.

Once they are feathered out they are ready to leave the brooder and go out to the coop. I had mine spending their days outside foraging at 3 weeks. I call them Ragamuffins when they look like this...

 

 

And here is what they look like last weekend.

 

Edited by Rock Home Isle - 5/24/12 at 6:31am