Moving chicks outside

[bigz1983]

Hey everyone I have 10 buff orpington chicks that are 4 weeks old and they are in my living room in a homemade plywood box I built it's 2 feet wide x 3 feet long x 2 feet tall. I have a low wattage 25 watt bulb on them now.

I live in Michigan and it's cold right now 30's during the day/teens at night and its a very cold beginning for April.

I have a A-frame shaped 8'x8' chicken run covered with a tarp attached to my chicken coop and 2nd chicken run attached to that is 10'x10'. I want to move the plywood box and the 10 buff orpington chicks outside under the A-frame tarp covered chicken run.

At what age could the 10 buff orpington chicks in the house be moved out the A-frame tarp covered chicken run?

The adult chickens in the coop will not be mingling with the 10 buff Orpington chicks I blocked the entry off.

Also the adult chickens in the coop were in that run recently. Any cautions I should take for disease prevention?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You need to either wait until it warms a bit or work on acclimating them to your outside temperatures. The difference between your house and outside are too big of a drop. You need slowly lower their temperatures over a week or two.

They should be old enough to be out there, though you need to be careful about drafts. That open front and even the tarps with this colder weather may not protect them enough. A solid structure would be better.

There's nothing to worry about the older birds unless you have sick ones. I usually just move my chicks out to the shed one day.

 

[bigz1983]

If I wait until they are about 7 weeks old and have a heat lamp in the brooder box then would they be ok under the tarp in the box?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

In a couple of weeks it will probably finally warm up enough too.

When you put them out watching their behaviors can help you determine if they are comfortable.

I would when it warms up a bit start taking them out for the day to get used to the pen,and begin the acclamation process, take them back in if they look cold. Put them back in the brooder at night for a while before leaving them out for good.

 

[ghostsnare101]

I also live in Michigan, like oldhenlikesdogs said I would be mindful of drafts once they are moved to that A-Frame. Hopefully it will warm up in a couple weeks and you won't have to worry about acclimating them to much if it's not that much of a drop in temperature.

 

[Goldnmine]

Hello I’m asking the same kind of question. My girls are @6-7wks and over the past week we have been putting them out for the day and bringing them in at night. I live in southern Pennsylvania, it has been 30-40 night and 30-60 day depending on the day (it’s so up and down this year!) they are getting too cramped in the pen I have them in inside and they are stinking us out (cleaning it daily). They have not had a heat lamp for about 2wks. Is it too cold out to move them out full time? I’m scared to put a heat lamp in the coop for fire risk (had a house fire 4 yrs ago and extremely cautious)

 

[Percheron chick]

Hello I’m asking the same kind of question. My girls are @6-7wks and over the past week we have been putting them out for the day and bringing them in at night. I live in southern Pennsylvania, it has been 30-40 night and 30-60 day depending on the day (it’s so up and down this year!) they are getting too cramped in the pen I have them in inside and they are stinking us out (cleaning it daily). They have not had a heat lamp for about 2wks. Is it too cold out to move them out full time? I’m scared to put a heat lamp in the coop for fire risk (had a house fire 4 yrs ago and extremely cautious)

. Go for it. I just leave the dog carrier I move them around in as a huddle box and pile straw on the top and sides as some insulation. After a few hours of complaining they get busy exploring. My temps are similar and they've been out off heat since 4 weeks.