4 week old chicks have been evicted from inside to outside grow out brooder/coop

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

Going to take time to get this all calmed down, but slowly it is getting better. Haven't been this bad in many many years.
First time having chicks younger than 4 weeks, so I learned big time
Chicks were just fine this morning when brooder/coop was opened this morning. I didn't stress or worry about them last night. They ran in and out all day, testing their wings, chest bumping, chick things. They have no problems using the ramp, run up & down like it is nothing. Even put themselves in the brooder/coop when it is time to shut their door.

 

[alisajw82]

Your chicks don't need heat at that age, 60 degrees is plenty warm for them.

Some nights it still dips below so I just want to give them the heat option if they need it. They do sleep less huddled together when the lamp is on and its a 10ftx10ft enclosure so they have plenty room to avoid the lamp.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Some nights it still dips below so I just want to give them the heat option if they need it. They do sleep less huddled together when the lamp is on and its a 10ftx10ft enclosure so they have plenty room to avoid the lamp.

The point in putting them out is to completely wean them off heat. Obviously they're your chickens and you can do as you wish, but I took heat away at 4 weeks and my highs were more like your lows at night.

 

[Relleoms]

I removed the heat plate last night. It was 23F and they were fighting for a place to sleep on TOP of the heat plate
ETA: they are 4.5 weeks old

 

[9876]

The point in putting them out is to completely wean them off heat. Obviously they're your chickens and you can do as you wish, but I took heat away at 4 weeks and my highs were more like your lows at night.

I started weaning mine off the heat today. They are 4 weeks old so I took the heat lamp away but they use the brinsea heating plate to lay under. I still have them in my basement bedroom which is a cool 65 F . They are doing well.

 

[debid]

I have a dust allergy, never even considered having chicks in my house. They have a MHP and do just fine out in their coop. The last group moved to the roost at exactly 5 weeks. It was still freezing at night but they chose to switch so obviously they weren't suffering.

 

[9876]

What is an MHP? I’ll be moving outside soon. It will be much easier for me also as the pine shavings are quite dusty. Is your coop insulated? Can you send a post of it?

 

[rosemarythyme]

What is an MHP?

MHP = Mama heating pad. Here's a whole thread on it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...e-heavy-update.956958/page-1137#post-21166652

I took away my MHP at 4 weeks. The chicks had already been living outside since day 2.

 

[debid]

What is an MHP? I’ll be moving outside soon. It will be much easier for me also as the pine shavings are quite dusty. Is your coop insulated? Can you send a post of it?

No, not insulated but I took care to block wind and they have a roost that's only about 18" off the floor. I have the baby coop next door to the big girls' run so they can see each other through the fence. The mini's run is all hardware cloth, no entry point for chick predators. They stay locked up for a week, have run access at that point, and then start having supervised outings with the adults at 2 weeks. The last batch moved in with the big girls at about 10-12 weeks. The big structure isn't secure enough for chicks that are small enough to be killed by a rat snake so I don't want to move them sooner than that but they interact from a very early age and the chicks act like part of the flock from the start.

I added the chick coop after a bad experience with trying to introduce started pullets to an existing flock. It has dramatically reduced my stress level. If I were building everything over again, I would make the chick coop part of the main coop, make the main coop rodent and snake-proof, and let them merge sooner.

 

[blackdog043]

If I were building everything over again, I would make the chick coop part of the main coop, make the main coop rodent and snake-proof, and let them merge sooner.

My run is covered and is 1/2 hardware cloth. My brooder is underneath the poop board. My chicks that are 3.5 weeks old, are in and out of the brooder all day long.