when to put chicks in the coop

[MambaJack]

Finished most of the coop today (not the run yet),

Is a week old too early to move my baby chicks from a box in my basement to the coop.
It can limit the area the will stay in to roughly half of what the total coop footprint will be.
I also plan to move the heat lamp out there with them.

Outdoor temp is supposed to be in the 60s here tonight.

I don't want to risk hurting them, but the heatlamp in my basement makes me a little nervous also.

Any thoughts would be appreciated
thanks

 

[MambaJack]

Here is a pic of where i would put them,
Coop roughly 8x6 with a 8x3 foot shelf at 3' off the floor that will eventually serve as the poop shelf below the roost.
I have boarded/wired it in to serve as a brooder for a while.

 

[cordless]

Not much feedback,,,,huh? I have a similar situation and was looking for answers as well. What did you do and how did it turn out?

 

[PoesAccomplice]

I hope my answer helps you guys. It depends where you live. I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and it burning hot here now. They can technically be transitioned out to the coop at week two since it is so warm here. If it is cooler where you live, let them outside for maybe an hour a day to peck and run around, them confine them to the coop the rest of the day. Put a heat lamp in there for the cold temps though. No drafts can be experienced by them, or they could die. Just let them out a bit each day, but keep them in that coop with a heating lamp. Hope this helps.

P.S. Your coop has to be closed off. If not, predators will kill the chicks.

 

[lcertuche]

How feathered out are the chicks? I put mine out on a porch during the day and bring them in at night. After they are about 3 weeks old I just cover the cage with an old heavy comforter (blanket). I am on my second batch of chicks this year.

 

[RonC]

JabbaDaHutt is correct. It depends on where you live. Mine are in the coop/run at almost 5 weeks old. They have been in a brooder on my back porch for two weeks with their heat lamp at one end. It is covered in hardware cloth so most of it is ambient temperature. Most days it's 85-90 degrees and mid sixties at night. As long as they are safe from predators and have a place like under a heat lamp to warm up they will do fine. Their whole brooder area does not have to be warm, just enough of a spot for them all to warm up. I realize this is an old post but it might help someone else.

 

[Blooie]

I brood mine outside from the start. They thrive on some cooling, rather than having a hothouse environment, so if you can provide them a space well away from the heat lamp to frolic and play, they'll be so much the better. Here in Northern Wyoming our temps are getting up into the 60s during the day and still in the 40s at night, but my Littles are fine with that - I've brooded with temps in the teens and twenties with a snowstorm or two tossed in just to keep things interesting. I don't use heat lamps...those things scare the pee-wadding outta me, and they heat everything - the air, the walls, the floor, the bedding, the water, the food - when all that's really necessary is a spot for chicks to go warm up, just like they would under a broody hen! So I form a "cave" out of scrap fencing, put a heating pad over it, then a towel and layers of straw. They love it!

I'm assuming by now you've put them out and they are doing well. I wish I'd seen your question when you first posted it so I could be more helpful.

 

[MambaJack]

I ended up putting them out that day. Have continued to use the heatlamp most nights. they are doing great.

 

[cordless]

I put mine out yesterday..... They love the coop. Much more room than the brood box that I built. Now to finish the run

 

[RonC]

Mine have been in the coop/run now for about 5 days. First night they needed help going in. Second night I told them time for bed and my BO jumped on the ramp and the others followed. Last couple of nights they have all gone in by themselves. Still leave the light on for them at night, sometimes a little chilly for them in the mornings early.