Are these chicks too small to go outside yet?

[MonsterClucker]

I have these 16 Jumbo Cornish cross chicks. They were born on July 11th. So tomorrow they are 17 days old. I just got done building their Hoop House and today we were giving it a test run. Everything looks good, dosent seem like they can escape anywhere. They were in there from about 11am till dark. Imin Northern California and our temperates have been in the high 90's. 95-100F daytime and no less than 61F nighttime. Here they are today...

 

[Kim95037]

I had mine inside for a lot longer. Check this out.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

There are lots of differing opinions on when to kick chicks outside. Some of the folks on here never keep their chicks in the house to begin with. I used to be one of those temperature obsessed people, constantly worrying if my babies were comfortable. Then this past winter I ordered some layers from a hatchery (it was the end of Feb when they arrived at my post office). My original plan was to brood them in the house since it was cold out. What I didn't plan on was the hatchery sending 20 packing peanuts with my order. Those 20 chicks + the 12 I ordered were not going to fit in my inside brooder. So, they had to go to my outside brooding hutch. I stuck them outside with 2 100 watt bulbs and hoped for the best. We had some pretty awful weather while they were living in their hutch. At times the temp under the lamp would read as low as 65°, the one I kept outside the heat zone would get down into the 40s. Those chicks were perfectly happy running around in that brooder, which surprised the heck out of me, I expected to find chick popsickles every time I checked on them. And you know what? Those have been some of the healthiest hens I've ever had! I'll never, ever breathe chick dust inside my house again. So, I say go for it! Put their stinky, dusty butts outside! If they huddle at night, it should keep them warm enough. Or you could provide a heat lamp at night. IMO, your day time temps are just fine. Too much heat will kill chicks faster then too much cold. And with them being Cornish x, they might appreciate the cooler temps. Good luck!

 

[7L Farm]

I brood all my birds outside in the pen they will live in. I provide heat usually till their around 4 weeks. It seems the birds are healthier & can start out scratching, pecking the ground & get plenty of fresh air along with exercise. I live in Texas so its usually warm days. Did I say warm I meant hot.

 

[Panth]

I agree with HowFunky: I used to keep mine in until 6 or 7 weeks, but with each batch I've been putting them out earlier and seem to get much healthier chickens for it. I put them out at about 3 weeks now and keep an eye on them temp wise (run a heat lamp if it is super cold or windy) but during the summer the heat is a worse risk than the cold.

Edited to say...mine are freerange at 3 weeks with plenty (and I mean plenty) of shelter both from my adult chickens and from predators/elements. It is so adorable to see a 3 week old chick dustbathing or chasing bugs in the grass.

 

[MonsterClucker]

Thanks a lot I appreciate the replys!

The reason I want them outside is because they are already so much bigger than my BR chicks the same age. They are always squishing the BR chicks and feel its just time for them to be outside. It's not really cold at night, more like crisp. Im gonna go ahead and try to see what happens tonite.

 

[kborges]

Mine went to the outside brooder at 3 weeks. I turn the heat lamp on at night only. We have great outside temps during the day. They are doing great!

Karen

 

[MonsterClucker]

Hey Karen. Thanks a lot for the tip. Do you think they need a heat lamp at night with temps in the lows 60's F?

 

[RonC]

Mama hen would have outside after a couple of days. I agree your daytime temps are high enough they won't need any additional heat. With it dropping close to 60 degrees I would put a heat lamp in the sleeping area for another week or so, till they are about a month old. They won't need a great deal of additional heat. 60-100 watt bulb will do. After that they should be feathered enough to stay warm.

 

[trifecta]

I kicked my 23 chicks out of my garage today! They are 9 days old. Its well over 100 here so I see little point on keeping them inside with a light on, LOL. They have serious shade in their pen, completely covered with shade cloth and half covered with a tarp as well to make sure they have shady and shady-er areas. They are so much happier outside than in!

I would just watch them this evening to see if they really need the heat lamp. With my first batch of CX, which I got in February, they never really used their heat lamp- they seemed pretty comfy at the edges which were around 65 degrees. Under the lamp it was about 90, and I really never saw them under it.