2 week olds - proper enviornment?

[kidcallous]

My local feed store is selling 2 week old straight run chicks. I plan on using all I have learned on BYC to *TRY* my best and pick out pullets. ha ha, right?

So, my question is: I live in Florida, where it is mighty hot day and night. My garage maintains a temperature of about 90 degrees during the day and about 85 at night. I understand that 2 week old chicks are not "strong enough" to be outside all day and night, and wondered if my garage would be a suitable temperature? If so, Should there be a fan for ventilation??

And is 8 weeks the absolute youngest that you can put chicks outside in their permanent home?

Maybe it would be better for me to find someone selling 2 month olds..... I'm certain I wont be able to convince my husband to let me keep chicks in the house, which is why I'm considering my garage as an alternative.

 

[noodleroo]

Right or wrong, I put mine outside at 9 days old; they are 15 days old now. I'm in South Texas and its about 90 during the day and the high 70s at night. They are doing fine-they love it outside. I have a 60 watt black light bulb in the lamp and I just turn it on about an hour before dark to warm up the enclosed part of their coop and then turn it off right before dark to get them used to going in the coop to roost.

The problem that I see with a 90 degree constant temp (like in the garage) is that they can't get away from the 'source' to cool off if they get too hot like they can with a heat lamp. I am by far not experienced like some of the readers here so others may give you different advice but mine are fine outside.

 

[kidcallous]

Quote:
Very true, I did not think of that. This is why I love this forum. BRAINSTORMING!

Maybe some other Florida folks will see this thread and chime in with their experiences...

 

[1 Florida chick]

At 2 weeks old they would be okay in the garage for a week or two. I live in Central FL too but I got my chicks earlier in the spring and kept them in the garage with a heat lamp. 90 degrees will get too hot for them at 4 weeks IMO. Trust me, you don't want them in the house if at all possible, especially after 3 or 4 weeks old! If you can get them to fully feathered (4 to 6 weeks old) they will be fine outside as long as they are well protected from predators. You could always bring them in the garage at night if you don't think they'd be safe.

 

[kidcallous]

Quote:
Basically, keeping them indoors is not an option. I have 2 indoor dogs which already muck up the place enough. My husband begrudgingly agreed to let me keep 4 hens outside. . .

How high can a 4 week old chick pull itself up (fly?)

I know that full grown birds won't be able to get through the 2"x3" fencing that I have up, but don't want to risk coming out in the morning to find a baby chickie stuck in the openings.

Are 4 week old chickies the size of a pigeon? a crow? a mocking bird?

I apologize for my stupidity, but I have never even seen a day old chick in person, much less a 4 week old one... LOL..

 

[kidcallous]

Quote:
Basically, keeping them indoors is not an option. I have 2 indoor dogs which already muck up the place enough. My husband begrudgingly agreed to let me keep 4 hens outside. . .

How high can a 4 week old chick pull itself up (fly?)

I know that full grown birds won't be able to get through the 2"x3" fencing that I have up, but don't want to risk coming out in the morning to find a baby chickie stuck in the openings.

Are 4 week old chickies the size of a pigeon? a crow? a mocking bird?

I apologize for my stupidity, but I have never even seen a day old chick in person, much less a 4 week old one... LOL..

Oh - and I do have chicken wire lining the bottom of the run, on the inside of the frame - with the 2" x 3" fencing attached to the outside of the frame.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
There's nothing that says you have to wait until 8 weeks old before you move them to the coop permanently; especially if they don't have to share the coop with older chickens.

Last time I ordered chicks (in early April, 2007) we kept them in an outbuilding with heat lamps and a draft guard for the first two weeks. By the time they were two weeks old it was too warm in the outbuilding during the day, so we moved them to the screened porch, using their heat lamp mainly at night and on rainy days. By 5 1/2 weeks they were off their heat lamp completely.

This year I'm getting chicks in early June. They will go straight to the screened porch after arrival. Given the hot temps. we are already having here in SW Arkansas I'll probably only use one heat lamp, mainly at night.

By the end of June I expect to be able to move them to the coop, seperated by a wire cage from my adult birds. They'll be outside in the grass, again protected by a wire cage from week one; except on really nasty rainy days.

You can brood them from day one in a coop.
ETA: The only exception I plan to make is for the two silkie chicks I have ordered. If necessary I will keep them on the porch a little longer, but if at all possible they are going out with the rest, in order to avoid intergration issues later on.

 

[kidcallous]

Quote:
There's nothing that says you have to wait until 8 weeks old before you move them to the coop permanently; especially if they don't have to share the coop with older chickens.

Last time I ordered chicks (in early April, 2007) we kept them in an outbuilding with heat lamps and a draft guard for the first two weeks. By the time they were two weeks old it was too warm in the outbuilding during the day, so we moved them to the screened porch, using their heat lamp mainly at night and on rainy days. By 5 1/2 weeks they were off their heat lamp completely.

This year I'm getting chicks in early June. They will go straight to the screened porch after arrival. Given the hot temps. we are already having here in SW Arkansas I'll probably only use one heat lamp, mainly at night.

By the end of June I expect to be able to move them to the coop, seperated by a wire cage from my adult birds. They'll be outside in the grass, again protected by a wire cage from week one; except on really nasty rainy days.

You can brood them from day one in a coop.
ETA: The only exception I plan to make is for the two silkie chicks I have ordered. If necessary I will keep them on the porch a little longer, but if at all possible they are going out with the rest, in order to avoid intergration issues later on.

It's so hot here, that I wouldnt even think I would need a heat lamp at night. It's between 80 and 85 at night here, with periodic breezes.

Does anyone know how high a 2 week old chick can "fly"? And their size comparable to a wild bird? Dove sized, bluejay, crow? I am totally new, although I guess I could guage their size when I go look at them....

 

[gritsar]

When mine were two weeks old they would fly high enough to sit on the draft guard around their brooder. The draft guard was 18" high. I would expect they could manage 2 ft. high.
The little ones need protection from slithering and sneaky predators - think snakes and coons, that can easily slip or reach through traditional chicken wire. Using hardware cloth is a better option.
Body-wise at 2 weeks old, about the size of a dove, minus the long tail. That's for standard chicks, not bantams.

 

[nuts4hotwheels]

My wife and I were wondering the same thing. We are getting 5 chicks this weewkend We live in Kemah, Texas near Houston and right now the temp is 70 at night and about 90 during the day. Will they be ok outside in the garage, with a heat lamp only at night?