When to take away the outdoor brooder

[Becks Chicks]

I have a group of eleven chicks almost seven weeks old. They have been in an outdoor brooder from day three. They are fully feathered and the escape doors to the brooder have been open since week three. Most spend their days running in and out of the brooder. I have two double silver laced barnevelders that are perfectly happy staying in the brooder pen (2'X6').

They are off heat. When I went out last night to check on them, they were still piled under the unplugged brooder plate. They do still get chased a bit by the five older pullets hatched in May if they get in their path. I have lots of clutter in the run. When should I take away the brooder? I'm not concerned about daytime in the run since that integration is successful. The weather is turning here in the Pacific NW and I'd like to get them in the coop roosting at night.

As far as dimensions go, I have an 8'X20' run. My coop is 6'X8' and I have 16' of roosting space. I plan to keep a max of 12 in the coop once the extras are old enough to separate.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Is the brooder still heated? They may need to adjust to the cold temps, so you m.j may need to wean them off the heat by gradually lowering the temp a little every day.

 

[Becks Chicks]

Is the brooder still heated? They may need to adjust to the cold temps, so you m.j may need to wean them off the heat by gradually lowering the temp a little every day.

Brooder plate has been unplugged. They are off heat.

 

[Domino-The-Rooster]

I have some almost 6 week old chicks I live on Long Island so I would like to know when I could move them outside in a large dog crate breeds buff laced polish blue copper Maran Buff Orpington x barred rock mix ameracun and white leghorn

 

[Aunt Angus]

Brooder plate has been unplugged. They are off heat.

Then you can now. Make sure there are lots of hiding places (sounds like you've got that covered!) and multiple feeders and waterers. Just keep an eye. There will be politics, for sure, but intervene if there is potential for injury.

 

[Becks Chicks]

Then you can now. Make sure there are lots of hiding places (sounds like you've got that covered!) and multiple feeders and waterers. Just keep an eye. There will be politics, for sure, but intervene if there is potential for injury.

There is no clutter in the actual coop/hen house. Lots of clutter in the run and that's been successful during the day. I'm just not sure how to transition to sleeping in the actual coop/hen house. Should I wait until the May pullets are roosting and then round the chicks up and put them in the coop? If I take away the outdoor brooder then they'll need to sleep inside the coop/hen house.

 

[K0k0shka]

They are going under the unplugged heater out of habit, not because they need it. Are any of your other chickens laying yet? Sounds like you just have pullets of different ages, but not sure if they are laying. If nobody is laying yet (so they don't need to go into the coop during the day to lay), you can start by locking the younger group into the coop during the day for about a week, to get them used to the space in a peaceful way without the older ones making them nervous/afraid. Put food and water out for the older ones, and a separate feeder and waterer inside for the younger ones. Open the pop door in the late afternoon so the older ones can go in to sleep. Make sure there's enough roost space and that it's positioned so that both groups can be roosted without the older ones being able to reach the younger ones (either while roosted, or on their way up). There will be drama at first, but they know each other by now, so it shouldn't be too bad. And if it's getting dark by the time you open the door and the older ones come in, the younger ones are less likely to go out into dim light. Thought they might, to avoid the older ones. Whichever way you do it, you may need to be out there helping out for the first few nights - putting chicks back inside if they run out, locking everybody in at the end until they learn that that's where they are supposed to sleep. Good luck!

 

[Becks Chicks]

They are going under the unplugged heater out of habit, not because they need it. Are any of your other chickens laying yet? Sounds like you just have pullets of different ages, but not sure if they are laying. If nobody is laying yet (so they don't need to go into the coop during the day to lay), you can start by locking the younger group into the coop during the day for about a week, to get them used to the space in a peaceful way without the older ones making them nervous/afraid. Put food and water out for the older ones, and a separate feeder and waterer inside for the younger ones. Open the pop door in the late afternoon so the older ones can go in to sleep. Make sure there's enough roost space and that it's positioned so that both groups can be roosted without the older ones being able to reach the younger ones (either while roosted, or on their way up). There will be drama at first, but they know each other by now, so it shouldn't be too bad. And if it's getting dark by the time you open the door and the older ones come in, the younger ones are less likely to go out into dim light. Thought they might, to avoid the older ones. Whichever way you do it, you may need to be out there helping out for the first few nights - putting chicks back inside if they run out, locking everybody in at the end until they learn that that's where they are supposed to sleep. Good luck!

Thank you. That's very helpful. Two out of my five May pullets are laying so they do go into the coop/hen house during the day. The two layers are the biggest chasers of the chicks. The other three pretty much leave them alone.

Your info has given me some ideas to tackle this. I'll have to wait until the weekend so I can stay out there and help get the chicks into the coop/hen house during the day while the May pullets are in the run.

 

[Aunt Angus]

They are going under the unplugged heater out of habit, not because they need it. Are any of your other chickens laying yet? Sounds like you just have pullets of different ages, but not sure if they are laying. If nobody is laying yet (so they don't need to go into the coop during the day to lay), you can start by locking the younger group into the coop during the day for about a week, to get them used to the space in a peaceful way without the older ones making them nervous/afraid. Put food and water out for the older ones, and a separate feeder and waterer inside for the younger ones. Open the pop door in the late afternoon so the older ones can go in to sleep. Make sure there's enough roost space and that it's positioned so that both groups can be roosted without the older ones being able to reach the younger ones (either while roosted, or on their way up). There will be drama at first, but they know each other by now, so it shouldn't be too bad. And if it's getting dark by the time you open the door and the older ones come in, the younger ones are less likely to go out into dim light. Thought they might, to avoid the older ones. Whichever way you do it, you may need to be out there helping out for the first few nights - putting chicks back inside if they run out, locking everybody in at the end until they learn that that's where they are supposed to sleep. Good luck!

Good advice! This is a great strategy. It will all work itself out with time and patience. OP, you don't have to wait until May.

 

[K0k0shka]

Thank you. That's very helpful. Two out of my five May pullets are laying so they do go into the coop/hen house during the day. The two layers are the biggest chasers of the chicks. The other three pretty much leave them alone.

Your info has given me some ideas to tackle this. I'll have to wait until the weekend so I can stay out there and help get the chicks into the coop/hen house during the day while the May pullets are in the run.

Most chickens lay early in the day, so if yours are morning layers, you can wait until they are done for the day, and then lock the young ones in the coop for the rest of the day. Of course, this may not be practical if you work away from home, but you can think of something else in that case. Maybe a temporary nesting box outside for that one week or so.