Small chick into big world

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Chicken-Man

Chicken-Man

Chirping
6 Years
Jan 8, 2014
396
8
81
your head.... ~(*.*)~
I got a 6week old polish and an 8week old cochin hens Both sleep inside, with a lamp (mostly used for light during the night but has some warmth to it). I have a big girl coop waiting for them with hay and all. During the day they are in the cage because it is HOT and they are fine but evenings and nights have chilly breezes but i dont think it's "cold"

When can they go into the coop?
 
You need to devise a setup in the coop and run for them that is wired off...they can see them and them can see they if you get my drift. This will allow interaction between the two age groups until full integration. This can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer. Good luck!
 
Chicken-Man said:
:$ I'm sorry. I don't understand :/
Click to expand...
You don't want to just "plop" younger birds in with the older existing flock....that would spell disaster! The older ones (with very rare exceptions) will tear those younger ones to pieces! Chickens are extremely "pecking order" savvy, it could get bloody and you don't want that I'm sure.

Just take some chicken wire and fashion a separation of sorts within your coop and run. This way the new birds can see the older birds, and vice-versa and eventually they will get used to each other...make sense now?
 
Chicken-Man said:
I got a 6week old polish and an 8week old cochin hens Both sleep inside, with a lamp (mostly used for light during the night but has some warmth to it). I have a big girl coop waiting for them with hay and all. During the day they are in the cage because it is HOT and they are fine but evenings and nights have chilly breezes but i dont think it's "cold"

When can they go into the coop?
Click to expand...

Are there any other chickens in this "big girl coop" you have waiting or will these little ones be the only birds?
 
I think the OP only has the two chicks -not any big girls- and is asking how old they should be before he can put them outside in their coop.

If that's the case, they can go outside once they are completely feathered out - meaning all the baby fluff has been replaced with actual feathers. I would wait until the younger chick is at least 8 weeks old before doing so. They're also old enough to stop using the lamp entirely at their current ages. By eliminating the lamp, they will be able to adjust better to their outdoor digs.
 
Last edited:
islandgirl82 said:
I think the OP only has the two chicks -not any big girls- and is asking how old they should be before he can put them outside in their coop. 

If that's the case, they can go outside once they are completely feathered out - meaning all the baby fluff has been replaced with actual feathers.  I would wait until the younger chick is at least 8 weeks old before doing so.  They're also old enough to stop using the lamp entirely at their current ages. By eliminating the lamp, they will be able to adjust better to their outdoor digs. 
Click to expand...

Thank you. That's what I originally thought. Thanks too all for the help! ^.^
 

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