When can my girls go in the coop?

[Quailberries]

I know the usual coop age is 4-6 weeks, but I've been hearing of people getting them out at 3 weeks or even younger successfully with heating, which we do have.

We have 2 pullets who will be turning 4 weeks on Wednesday and another 2 that will be around 2 weeks on Wednesday. They are all feathering out very quickly and are growing like weeds. We would wait it out until the youngest are 4 weeks, as our brooder is pretty big, but our older GLW is just getting restless. We take them outside to play about every other day just to wear themselves out, but it doesn't look like that's really doing enough for our older girls. I'm in WI and the temps right now are a high of 60-70 and a low of 40-45. We have 2 coop heaters we could probably supplement them with at night.

Thoughts? We're looking for the earliest possible time but we can wait it out if it means our chicks are safer.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If your coop is predator proof and you have electricity in the coop, there is no reason they can't go out when they hatch.
I've brooded hundreds of day olds in an out building with no insulation down to 20F outside temperature.
Below 20, I brood in the basement.

 

[chickens really]

With a heat source that they can get too they do fine at those ages. I never Baby mine.

 

[Quailberries]

If your coop is predator proof and you have electricity in the coop, there is no reason they can't go out when they hatch.
I've brooded hundreds of day olds in an out building with no insulation down to 20F outside temperature.
Below 20, I brood in the basement.

Thank you! We have the coop built, it’s just not as predator proof as we would currently like it to be. After working on that, we might just be able to get the girls outside! Super excited for them to see their new place

 

[azygous]

My current baby chicks are exactly the ages of yours, two and four weeks old. I brood under the heating pad system in my enclosed run. My temps right now range from low 30s at night to 50s and into the 70s during the day.

When my older two chicks were around ten days old, I moved them outside to the run brooding pen with a heating pad cave. A week later, when I got the newer chicks at a day old, I kept them inside a brooder in the house under a heating pad cave while waiting for a miserable cold front to move out. Then I moved them out with the then three-week olds. The new chicks were only four days old when they moved outside.

Now my chicks are two and four weeks of age, run around most of the day, even when the early morning temps are in the 40s, and go into the heating pad cave only to warm up. So, go ahead and move your chicks outside. Pick a nice day to do it so they won't have a big temperature spread shock, and you'll find out how happy they will be and how quickly they will adjust.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There was snow on the ground when this picture was taken.

Broody hens sometimes hatch in well below freezing temps here. I don't take them away from her unless it gets close to 0F.
I did put a heat lamp over the food and water once so they could eat and drink in comfort.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you! We have the coop built, it’s just not as predator proof as we would currently like it to be. After working on that, we might just be able to get the girls outside! Super excited for them to see their new place

Get it predator proofed and get them out of the house.