When can I move them outside??

Date sort Score sort
yotetrapper

yotetrapper

Crowing
14 Years
May 3, 2007
2,527
48
326
North Central MS
I planned on keeping them outside from the get go, is why I waited till mid april instead of ordering for Easter like I usually do. But when I put them outside in their box (thermometer read 95) they went into huddle under heat lamp. So I moved them in, they were shivering. I ended up losing 4 over that ordeal!

So now they're on my kitchen table. They will be 3 weeks this monday. Night time temps this weekend will be low 40s... should I still wait? I'm ready for spring to get here and STAY this time lol.
 
I moved mine out and some temps were down in the 40s I just kept the lamp out and they did fine. Mine had some feathers and a box to get out of the wind. If you lost 4 I would wait til it stays in the 50s I guess. Sorry about your loss.
 
I usually move mine out of the house and into the chicken house at about six weeks. I keep them confined to the chicken house for a couple more weeks before I let them outside for real.

I’m always so afraid that something will get them, I feel like they have a better chance of running for cover if they are a little older before I let them out in the run.
 
I sorta go by the breeds. For example, leghorn chicks go out at about 2-3 weeks old. But I still keep a light on them until the 6th week and also depending on weather. Now...for silkies or smaller birds, I usually would keep them in the house until light for about 6 weeks. Of course after the first week, I start turning the light off every day for 30 minutes the first week, 60 the next. The silkies just seem to be a little less hardier in cold weather to me, polish as well.
 
Yeah, two of the four that died were silkies, the other 2 frizzles.

Well, I wasn't moving them "out" out, just into a BIG brooder box I have built that is inside of a garage sort of thing that closes up. It's not a heated garage, but I would have a heat lamp on them.

I guess by monday it's supposed to warm up again, so might as well wait until then.
 
Temp was 95 AND they had a heat lamp and were huddled under it and they still shivered and died? Something's not quite right with that scenario. Must have been something other than cold that killed them.
 
<<Temp was 95 AND they had a heat lamp and were huddled under it and they still shivered and died?>>

No, sorry, I explained that wrong. Actual temp was in the 30s, but it read 95 under the heat lamp. So I thought it would be warm enouigh for them, but I guess it wasn't.
 
Quote:
Oh, that's completely different. I put babies out in 50 degree weather in a Chick-N-Hutch with a heat lamp inside the hutch but I cover the hutch with plastic or a blanket depending on temps. You don't want them to get a draft. If you can keep the brooder/cage/kennel/hutch covered they can stay warm and toasty but if a draft/breeze is blowing on them they can't. When I lift the cover each morning I feel the blast of nice hot air and I know they are warm. The plastic allows me to watch them and ensure that they are runnng around and not huddled up cold.

Watching them is the key where ever you have them whatever the temps. They can get too hot and die as well. Just watch them - huddled under light means too cold - as far as they can get from it means too hot. They should be running around non-stop little energy bunnies or rather chickies.
 
That is exactly what I did with my chicken hutch at night too! If I heard it would get below 50 I would cover the hutch with a blanket at night and the nigts it got in the 30's I got my oilfilled electric radiator heater and put out in the coop near the hutch and watched the thermometer. The girls are doing just fine. On the really warm days I open the windows in the coop too to give them fresh air and the sun comes in through the skylight for them. trudy:jumpy
jumpy.gif
 

Similar threads

M
Moving Chicks Outside
2
Replies
11
Views
456
Mikski
M
tviss711
Ready to move outside?
Replies
9
Views
276
Happy hen lover
Happy hen lover
ForFlocksSake
When is it safe for them to be outside in North Florida winter conditions?
Replies
8
Views
2K
PoppasGrill
PoppasGrill
lissalischicks
Can they stay out?
Replies
3
Views
159
lissalischicks
lissalischicks
G
    • Like
I moved them outside at 2 weeks. Yay or nay?
5 6 7
Replies
60
Views
2K
GoldenGirlsChicks
G

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom