3 Week Old Chicks, Transition from Indoors to Run

[kdt_ntexas]

So I have 6 chicks from an Easter Egger rooster and Barred Plymouth Rock hen. The roo & hen are now the only ones left after two chickens died during a disastrous free-ranging trial. But that's another story.

I live in far north Texas. Temps are starting to taper down now *just* a bit, with excursions into the low 100's, I hope maybe we're through the worst of it. Forecast (ha ha!) is for lows in the low/mid-70s and highs in the upper 90s (around 20-25 degree swings)

The chicks are now almost 4 weeks (hatched 7/15), and have been in a brooder in an non-air-conditioned room in my small cabin. The room has stayed in the 80's, and there is a small non-lamp heater, if they want it. They do seem to hang around it all the time, though.

I want to transition them to outdoors, and then into the run, which is about 16x16 ft, and eventually the coop which was designed for 12-15 birds. Eventually I'd like all to free range.

Current plan is to put the brooder out on the porch (full shade) with a secured grated cover and a constant fan, then build a little screened in mini-coop in the run, transfer them to that at maybe 6-8 weeks (early September), then a couple of weeks later open a small door for them to let themselves in/out as needed. I figure 6 of them should allow them to not be harassed too much by the bigger birds, and the tiny door should allow them to get back inside if it gets too rough.

Thoughts?

 

[DobieLover]

the coop which was designed for 12-15 birds

This means nothing if it came from any literature and a pre-fab coop.
How large is the coop in ft x ft? Can you post pictures of it? I hope it has huge amounts of ventilation in your horrid heat.
You have 8 birds so the coop should be a MINIMUM of 24 sq ft.
I would certainly brood them outside in a predator proof enclosure. As soon as they no longer need a supplemental heat source (that should be about 2-3 weeks from now), I would start the integration into the flock. Section of a portion of the coop for them to sleep in and section off about 1/4 of the run for them to use so that the two adults can see them but not get at them. After about a week of this, fashion two or three small doors (about 3"Wx5"H) in the fence between their run and the adult run and allow them to come out and explore the larger run for about an hour with the two adults still in the coop. So do this first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.
During this hour, herd them back to their run doors and and make sure they all know how to get back in their run without panicking and running along the fence line. Make sure you have lots of perches and places for the littles to get out of the line of sight in the run. Pallets leaning against the walls, "tunnels" made from whatever you have handy, old wood chairs and stools are fun to fly up on. Whatever. After the hour is up, let the original pair out to join the littles and stay to monitor. There may be a peck or chase here and there but as long as the older ones don't outright attack, leave them to sort things out.
Make sure you also have more than one food and water station and that they are far apart.

 

[igorsMistress]

This is actually the perfect age to introduce the chicks to the bigs. Littles will typically get chased a little bit, but I’ve always had an easier transition when introducing chicks rather than other full sized birds; they run fast so can get away from the bigger birds. Keeping the brooder nearby for an escape for the them is perfect. Your plan is much like what I’ve done in the past with good results, go for it!

Keep an eye on them in the heat at first of course. I’m in AZ and successfully raised chicks outside in the upper 90s and low 100s provided they had shade. Since you’re not using a/c in the room where they live they should make that transition nicely.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!