age to move out of brooder??

[ukchickengirl]

Hi - my chicks are 3 weeks old and 4 weeks old, very nearly fully feathered but they are getting too big for the brooder really, i put them in the sunshine in a run some days but really they need to be outside all the time, i live in the uk so its averaging 10'C during the day and 4-5'C at night, if i put the light in the house end of the ark is this enough for them??

Thanks

H x

 

[LoneCowboy]

Yeah, I need to know this too. I was just about to make a post myself and saw yours. Mine are 3.5 weeks. I know I have to keep them in there at least another week, but when can they go into a regular coop without heat etc.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

They will look 'fully feathered' at 5-6 weeks old, but don't let that fool you. If you look underneath all those nice grown-up feathers, you'll see that they are still bare. They need to have the underneath layer grown in, to insulate them, before they can deal with autum temperatures like you are talking about. A lot of breeds start getting to that point at 8 weeks.

So, if they are being moved outside earlier, make sure they have a dry, draft-free part of the coop that has a heat lamp, so they can go warm up whenever they get too cold.

Edit: To more directly reply to the original question: as long as it's a nice cozy warm spot, yes.

 

[silkiechicken]

You can kick them out as early as you like. They just have to stay warm. I kick mine out of the house brooder at a week or so, then I kick them into their grow/brooder coop at like 3 weeks, but it all depends on how they react to the changes and if it is warm enough for them. Watch their actions and that will tell you what you need to do. Such as more or less heat. There's no rules on how to do it.

 

[JenniferJoIN]

I moved my chicks into their coop when they were 3 weeks old. They were just getting too big! I put a heat lamp out with them so they could get warm if they needed to. So far they've done excellent! (They're 6.5 weeks old now)