Are my chicks really ready to move outside?

[Cryss]

Good work predator proofing the run! Check the coop itself for predator proofing like locking mechanisms (raccoons are able to open many types), and wire mesh which often is only held with staples, easily punched out by anything stronger than a mouse.
Your chicks won't need heat once they are outside even in winter. However your chicks are currently too young for cold. Reduce the temperature in their brooder slowly to acclimate them. I forget how much or often. Let's ask someone like @aart . They do need their feathers to grow out, not just the wings.

 

[aart]

And can the handle occasional wind gusts?

All chickens should be blocked from the wind, IMO.
I'd lock them in the coop with feed and water for a few days at least to 'home' them to the coop. Can put the feed/water in nesting area for now.
Pics of inside coop itself, please.
How many birds?

 

[Cryss]

All chickens should be blocked from the wind, IMO.
I'd lock them in the coop with feed and water for a few days at least to 'home' them to the coop. Can put the feed/water in nesting area for now.
Pics of inside coop itself, please.
How many birds?

Agreed!
OOPSIE! @aart I was answering @LarryOdom I shoulda used a quote to signify that. Can you let them know how to acclimate temperatures for chicks?

 

[aart]

OOPSIE! @aart I was answering @LarryOdom . Can you let them know how to acclimate temperatures for chicks?

Do I need to wait until they are fully feathered out before moving them to the outside coop?

Unless you can provide heat in coop, and I would not recommend using heat lamp in that tiny coop, I'd wait until you have gotten them off heat to move them outside.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

Keep them as cool as possible, crack open a window in the brooder room to cool the ambient temps to help them acclimate. Take them out on 'day trips' if it's mild outside, provide a wind block.... and some shade if necessary.

Make them a 'huddle box', put it in the brooder after turning off the heat(you might have to 'persuade' them to use it) then move it out to the coop with them.
Cardboard box with a bottom a little bigger than what they need to cuddle next to each other without piling and tall enough for them to stand in.
Cut an opening on one side a couple inches from bottom and big enough for 2-3 of them to go thru at once.
Fill the bottom with some pine shavings an inch or so deep.
This will give them a cozy place to sleep/rest, block any drafts and help hold their body heat in.

Sorry for perpetuating the thread hijack @Carolinacluck .

 

[FlyWheel]

Thank you very much! I should be sleeping, but no... I'm shining a flashlight on them every 10 minutes lol. If I close them in to the coop, should I move their water and feed inside with them overnight? And can the handle occasional wind gusts? I seem to be much more bothered than they are.

"You know you're chicken crazy when..."