6 to 8 weeks old move outside?

[livingaquitelife]

How old do chicks need to be to move outside? Do you keep them in the hen house for a little while? How long, if so, before they can go into their pen?

 

[Amatsuhono]

Mine are 3 days old and brooding outside. It all depends on your climate. Mine are typically off all supplemental heat by 3 weeks. If your weather is decent they can be outside happily, very early. There are some great threads on here about integrating birds (if you have a preexisting flock). If they are your only birds I'd say put them in the coop, after a few days they'll know its home and then let them out in the run if you have one.

 

[blackdog043]

If you add your general location to your profile, it will help us answer weather related questions better.

I raise my chicks in the coop brooder, using the mama heat pad. They are outside when I have lows in the 30's. By 4 weeks they are not using any heat source and integration has been started with the big girls.