Another...”moving from brooder to coop?” thread ..

[concrete_boots]

Located in southern NJ, 10 day weather forecast attached..
Chicks are 4 1/2 weeks today..living inside with a premier1 heat plate currently on the highest height setting. They have started to sleep not under it in the past few days..coop is just about fully done, weather finally breaking and their outgrowing their brooder so I think it’s time..
We plan on doing it Saturday night so we can be around all day Sunday to make sure there aquaintented with their new pad..
They will be 2 days shy of 5 weeks on Saturday
Just a couple things I wasn’t sure about...should I put the heat plate in the coop for a few days? Week? Not at all?
Pics of them today...one has been slower growing than the rest and is less feathered in...right now 4 are sleeping in brooder outside of heat plate and she’s under it..
Any input appreciated as we are “first time chickeners”

 

[concrete_boots]

 

[A.M. Eggs]

I think your chicks are ready! They are almost completely feathered and in a coop they should be fine.

 

[Sarjeanp]

Aww, what a sweet little furbaby you have there! Just hanging with his/her feathered sisters!

 

[concrete_boots]

Yea she’s the boss, 14 years young...

 

[concrete_boots]

Thinking we’re going to put them in Saturday night...think I should hook the warme up just for a couple nights to get them happily in there ? And should it be on day and night or just at night ?
Should I leave them in most of the next day or ok to let them out in the morning ?
Read some people keeping them confined to coop for couple days...

 

[tnason]

I'm a first time chickener too so I can't speak to whether to let them out. Personally I would put their heat plate in the coop just to be safe and watch what they do.

That being said, I am sure they will be fine. Your low temperatures look like our highs (we had snow two days ago) and my chicks have been in the coop since day 3 with just a mama heating pad (not that different from the heat plate, really).