Are they ready to go out to the coop??

[pinkwindsong]

last night was my girls first night outside no lamp or any artifical heat source. they are 5 1/2 weeks old but also feathered out , few fuzzies here and there but for themost part feathered. and they did great! yeah!! i was worried too but everyone was happy and healthy this am..
good luck with your crew.
blessed be )O(
Pink

 

[HeyItsDebV]

A few days before the 14 chicks one month birthday, I kept finding many of the 14, sitting on the rim of the stock tank brooder...if they flew to the utility floor...they didnt stay long...but the mess was beginning to get noticeable AND HUBBY didnt like it at all!!!!

We had started the ground work for the coop, but were just working on lot clearing and padding up the coop site...
When chick poo began to show on our utility floor, this got hubby moving

For 3 days we worked as hubby would say "we are working with a purpose"!!! We worked until sundown for 3 days...

On the Chicks one month birthday we moved them to the new coop... They ran all over

They loved it! There were 6 nesting boxes, coupled on both sides, with a roosting bar in front of the top boxes for the hens one day to be able to fly up and have a landing to "step into the nesting box" as the BYC BUILDING COOPS FOR DUMMIES book had said to do

...And Hubby had built 2 shuttered / wire screened floor vents at both sides of the coop to ventilate the coop and for the chicks to look out...the Chicks all stood on either side of the coop looking out into the chicken run to come. They all crowded about to look around.

That night we ran extension cords to their heat lamp and clamped it above the chicks as we had done in the brooder... I shuttered closed the 2 floor vents and closed the 2 wired and shuttered wall windows...I peaked at them after dark many times...

...some were flocked together in nesting boxes and some on the floor in a corner... and some were on the new low roosts bars in front of the nesting boxes... I had spread pine shavings in all the boxes and on the floor... the chicks all made their happy chick peeps all evening...

The next day we finished putting up the wire in the covered run... hubby made the ramp and made the chicks a door to to pass from the coop to the run...

Oklahoma has been very very windy and the nights have been in the 40's...but the chicks are so so happy in their new coop and run...

We still need to paint the coop and run and do some finish trim work, but we are more than pleased as are the chicks

It was time to move them out and 4 weeks old was not too young...in fact...the chicks have become more loving

...when I take a lawn chair into the run and sit...ALL of the chicks fly up on me!

On my shoulders, on my arms and legs...it is CRAZY fun! They seem to want to look me in the face! !!! (Is this normal???)

It is, no joke as my hubby says, MY CHICKS LOVE ME! They run to me when they hear me coming! Love it! Love them! I am now Chick Possessed!

 

[laboroflove]

Mine started flying up on the lip of the brooder box (and occasionally got out on the floor) at about 4 weeks old. They to had most of their feathers so I moved them outside, and they are doing fine. I am still in the process of finishing their hen house (need to put up a door so my curious 5 year old mare won't venture in), but I have them in a little temporary run with cover until I can get the bigger one done.

BTW I live in east central GA. So my weather is quite warm.

 

[chicmom]

I think that they'll be fine out in the coop with no heat at all.......Your temps sound perfect. They'll cluster together when it get dark, so they'll be fine with the cooler night time temps.

 

[shend]

Quote:
Good to hear Brooklyn, I'm north of Muskegon. Also chilly nights so I'm doing the same-2 lights, draft free and dry and secure. This will be the first full night, so wish me luck.

 

[katydidit]

Thanks all! DH and I got all but the human access door and the roof on tonight!! By tomorrow, we will have a fully functional coop. yayyy!!!

Couple more questions...

1. Do I keep them isolated to the coop for the first few days/week? (i.e. close off the pop door to the run?) This might be easier since we haven't yet finished the run

lol.

2. Using milk crates as their nest boxes, should I keep these out of there in the meantime? If so, when do I introduce them?