Get your Chicks out the box

[Happy Chicken Mama]

I too like you strugle. My chicks are soooooo happy outside. They definatly dont want to come in at night. Mine are 1 1/2 weeks old and have only been going outside during the day for 4 days now.

My coop is covered and I keep a heat lamp in it so they can get clode to it if they get chilly. I live in Florida however and it dosent get chilly (85 degrees farenfeight in the mornings!)!

The haterchery sent extra boys for warmth that had to be seperated from my girls because they were too agessive (typical boys, huh?). They took the late afternoon/night shift out in the coop last night for the first time. With a heat lamp they did just fine. I have to admit though I was worried. But they were FINE.

I'm not ready for my girls to be out all night. They are... but not me. I'm sure at some point my husband will insist and all will be well.

Good luck. Trust yourself. Heat lamp outside just in case.

 

[ozark hen]

whew, thank you chel, I thought Stef was saying much colder...brrrr

 

[mandolinmama]

Wow Stef, I love the pic of your babies!! That's a really neat set-up you've got for your little ones to run in outdoors.
Mine are about 2 1/2 weeks old now. We've been taking them outside for playtime quite a bit but only when we can keep a close eye on them.
All we've got for them to run in is just a basic ring of chicken wire with no top, so I stay right close to be sure that they don't get hurt by the barn cat.
They LOVE playing outside!!! They hop around flapping their little wings and peck at the ground. It's also a great way for the other chickens outside to get used to having little ones around.
So, ours only get a coupld of hours a day at the most.
I did remove their heat lamp and have only a 65 watt bulb on them at night. They're acting fine with it. They don't huddle or act cold.
We have an awful hard time leaving them in their box all the time and most of the time i'm at my computer, i've got somebody sitting here with me.

I'm going to show you pic to my husband and perhaps he's got enough scrap lumber to give me to build a little outdoor play pen like you've got. Great picture!!!!

 

[keljonma]

Stef: keljonma. 14 degrees C if it were F that would be -10 degrees C brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

eggchel : 14 to 17 degrees Celsius equals 57 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

I know! That's why I asked.

I think it is easy to forget that people on this site are from different parts of the world and can be expressing temperatures in celcius or fahrenheit.

I'm in NE Ohio and this past winter the temps were below 0°F for weeks at a time. For 3 weeks straight we had temperatures of -25°F before wind chill was considered.

So, when Stef said 14°, I just wanted to check that she meant Celcius.

By the way, my spoiled darlings stayed in the brooder until the barn conversion to hen house was complete when they were 6 1/2 weeks old. But they spent their days outside in a fenced run.

regards,
keljonma​

 

[chickbea]

Some of us still have snow on the ground!

 

[ozark hen]

Poor chickbea!! I am so sorry you still have snow! brrr Stef's little outdoor playpen got me so excited that my husband found scrap and put a little playpen together so if it isn't storming tomorrow,

the chicks will go outside for the first time. It isn't a neat setup like Stef has but we didn't have anymore chickenwire around. This will work until we get some more. Thanks Stef!

 

[kelli120]

This will be the last week my chicks stay indoors. I have been taking them outside to get them used to some of the new sights and smells, their new family and new coop.

The main reason why I have kept mine in for so long is because of my other pets. My cat and sheppard really aren't interested in them, but my terrier is just a little too frisky, but she knows now that they are not her babies and they will peck

They are soo happy to play outside, and it is kinda sad to bring them in when they are having so much fun, but I am just doing it for their own safety until Bubbles calms down.

 

[ozark hen]

Oh, Kelli, I know what you mean. We have four Shih-Tzu who think it is wonderful to chase each other and what the heck, let's include the chickens, too.

Weather is warming up finally and some of us can put them outdoors now for awhile.

 

[cookinmom]

I love this thread. When my chicks were only a week old, I read something here on the forum where someone else said, if it's that warm, get those babies outside. We've had ours living in their coop since they were almost 2 weeks old. They had a heat lamp at night when it was still cold, and have had their choice of in or out of the house during the day, all this time. The other morning, it was 46 F outside at 6:45 am. Here they all came, out the chicken door, ran around their yard a few times, and fell to eating. They are almost 8 weeks old now. I agree that the info in the books is helpful, but sometimes other things work too. Some of the info I gleaned while getting ready for my chicks' arrival also said do not keep chicks in the family living space, for health reasons, so I think it is kind of a "to each his own" kind of thing.

 

[keljonma]

cookinmom wrote: Some of the info I gleaned while getting ready for my chicks' arrival also said do not keep chicks in the family living space, for health reasons, so I think it is kind of a "to each his own" kind of thing.

I say horse puckey! This is my laundry/mud room where we kept the pool brooder (upper left hand corner next to my dryer). This shows part of the flock run amuck (at 1 month old) waiting for me to open the pet door (upper right hand corner) so they could frolic in the back farm yard. The flock was in the house until they were 6 1/2 weeks old, but spent their days outdoors.