Can I move these ladies out for good?

[Thepriceofbeauty]

Hey guys! We finally got the inside coop portion of our build complete. We should have the run chicken ready in the next week or so.

I moved the ladies out into the coop for the first time today hoping the weather would stay around 50-60°, so I could acclimate them to their new home, and cooler temps. Unfortunately living in Colorado means our temps REALLY fluctuate and it's already "house" temperature out there for them, and looks like it may be around 80° at the height of the day. This coop took us over a month to build ( 0 carpentry experience. Thanks YouTube!) so unfortunately there was no safe area for us to bring the birds out for acclimation, until today.

I would really love to keep them out there for good (boy are they loving it!) but I'm worried about the temps dropping so drastically tonight and tomorrow. Looks like it will be just above freezing.

My question is how much time do I need to spend acclimating them to cooler temps? Should I bring them back inside over night? I currently do not have power running to the coop, so I won't be able to run a heat lamp or MHP.

The girls are 8 weeks old. 2 black sex links, 1 Sapphire Gem and an Ameraucana. TIA!!

 

[junebuggena]

They look like they are feathered well enough to handle outside temps just fine.

 

[lazy gardener]

At 8 weeks, they are past ready to be living in their coop. If you're concerned about night time temps, give them a huddle box. Do a thread search for specifics. My chicks, brooded outside, wean themselves off heat at 4 - 5 weeks of age with night time temps down to low 30's.

 

[BirdsInParadise]

I LOVE YOUR SET UP!!!

 

[Thepriceofbeauty]

At 8 weeks, they are past ready to be living in their coop. If you're concerned about night time temps, give them a huddle box. Do a thread search for specifics. My chicks, brooded outside, wean themselves off heat at 4 - 5 weeks of age with night time temps down to low 30's.

Yeah, if there is one thing I learned from this- it's to have the coop built BEFORE you get birds took about 3 times as long as we planned and cost about 3 times extra. Lol lesson learned!

 

[Thepriceofbeauty]

I LOVE YOUR SET UP!!!

Thank you!

 

[PirateGirl]

I will say this. I totally understand because I live in CO as well in the mountains. When I got my chickens at this time last year there was lots of in and out of my house as different storms rolled in and I did lose too birds that fell ill due to the stress of a cold snap. I'd say if it's above freezing they will likely do fine outside. Start with them out in the middle of the day, then you can leave them out as the temp drops to sunset. Consider bringing them inside your house again if it's going to be below freezing at night, I know the other night here it was in the low teens. 30 degrees isn't bad at their age, but when you get much lower they just don't have much body mass and all their thick winter feathers at this stage to keep warm.

 

[deepbluesea]

For having 0 construction experience, that looks fantastic! Congratulations!

 

[Jheff1983]

Hey guys! We finally got the inside coop portion of our build complete. We should have the run chicken ready in the next week or so.

I moved the ladies out into the coop for the first time today hoping the weather would stay around 50-60°, so I could acclimate them to their new home, and cooler temps. Unfortunately living in Colorado means our temps REALLY fluctuate and it's already "house" temperature out there for them, and looks like it may be around 80° at the height of the day. This coop took us over a month to build ( 0 carpentry experience. Thanks YouTube!) so unfortunately there was no safe area for us to bring the birds out for acclimation, until today.

I would really love to keep them out there for good (boy are they loving it!) but I'm worried about the temps dropping so drastically tonight and tomorrow. Looks like it will be just above freezing.

My question is how much time do I need to spend acclimating them to cooler temps? Should I bring them back inside over night? I currently do not have power running to the coop, so I won't be able to run a heat lamp or MHP.

The girls are 8 weeks old. 2 black sex links, 1 Sapphire Gem and an Ameraucana. TIA!!

your whole setup is beautiful. Great job!