Advice on moving younger birds to outside ....

[Going Quackers]

I have a bit of an unusual one for me lol

Some 2.5 month showgirls, have resided in my home for the last couple of months... of coarse by now they are big and really need to get out my house!!

We do have a coop within my bantam barn BUT trouble comes with the fact we are cold, below freezing.. of coarse my house is room temp in about high 60's/low 70's...

Er... how do i go about this? don't want 'em to freeze but seriously again i want chickens out of my house!

 

[Ridgerunner]

The way I handle that is to have a big brooder in the coop. Heat one end and let the rest cool down so they get acclimated. That way they are out of the house straight from the incubator. Doesn’t help you a lot right now but think along that concept.

Can you create an oversized brooder in your coop? Put in a heat source in one end (being careful to not start a fire) and let the rest cool down as it will. That way they can go warm up if they need to but will play in the cooler areas enough to soon get acclimated.

 

[Going Quackers]

Thank you.

Normally i let my birds raise young so all of this is a non-issue however we didn't own any showgirls and the opportunity presented itself when i was getting some older silkie hens from the same breeder.

No hydro in my bantam barn which is where the trouble lays. I worry that much of extreme will cause health concerns, that said i really don't want 'house chickens'

I maybe stuck though, i do have an unexpected clutch outside of silkies with their mama hatched back in October but clearly they had the advantage of their mother and their father and the rest of the flock, these simply do not.

We are below freezing again last night so the cold is definitely here....

 

[Ridgerunner]

Then start exposing them to colder conditions. Take them outside supervised and see how they react. As long as they don’t act cold, they are OK. Maybe you would feel comfortable leaving them outside all day and bringing them in at night when you see how they handle it. Or do you have an outbuilding or maybe an unheated garage where you could set up something temporarily?

I always acclimate mine so I don’t have any direct experience with chicks raised in the house and going directly to below freezing temperatures. I have had chicks less than 6 weeks old in an unheated coop with good ventilation and good wind protection go through nights with the temperatures in the mid-20’s Fahrenheit. Yours are twice that old. Yours should be fine but I understand your concern. You have a weekend coming up. Take them outside and see how they react.

 

[Going Quackers]

Then start exposing them to colder conditions. Take them outside supervised and see how they react. As long as they don’t act cold, they are OK. Maybe you would feel comfortable leaving them outside all day and bringing them in at night when you see how they handle it. Or do you have an outbuilding or maybe an unheated garage where you could set up something temporarily?

I always acclimate mine so I don’t have any direct experience with chicks raised in the house and going directly to below freezing temperatures. I have had chicks less than 6 weeks old in an unheated coop with good ventilation and good wind protection go through nights with the temperatures in the mid-20’s Fahrenheit. Yours are twice that old. Yours should be fine but I understand your concern. You have a weekend coming up. Take them outside and see how they react.

Yes, definitely an idea, will have to sort an area where they can be safe... as i said i had a unexpected clutch of silkies back in October and we had some real rough weather throughout they have thrived.

All my silkies have access to outdoors and seem to cope just fine with the cold and snow... i am likely overly worried but the weather has been so yo-yo and UN-cooperative my usual methods couldn't apply.

I will see what i can sort over the next few days.