Can I put my chicks out during the day?

[violet1017]

I put my babies outside at about 6 weeks and worried about them all night but they were fine so now they are outside!!! they like to huddle together when they are sleeping!

 

[foxmfan1]

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Three questions
1. Is 54 degrees too cold at night at 5 wks old?

i think that would depend on what/ where they are, if they are in corner with no wind or draft, and they have a place to huddle together and keep warm, like a small nest box, or something, they will prob just pile on top of each other and fluff out their feathers a bit, and keep themselves warm. Least that is what mine do, they'll just all three huddle in one of the nest boxes, and stay warm in there, ( i know it gets warm in there cuz i peeked in on them one of the first nights i left them outside, just to make sure they were ok.

2. Will they fly away over a 6' fence? from what i've read that depends on the bird, some birds fly some dont, but just some advice, I wouldn't leave them out roaming around unless you are outside with them, just to make sure they don't eat something or get stuck somewhere, or get carried away by a bigger bird


3. Can they see in the pitch black of night like some other animals can?

i have no idea!

 

[SandyCWV]

At 3 weeks my mixed up crew of 16 moved into this 10x10 lot. It is tarped over and with that padding covered pet crate for a smaller heat containment area. I added the clear plastic to keep them from running through the wire and it turned out to be a good wind break too. We moved the whole set up once a week to keep them from wrecking the grass completely.

The coop that will house the hens is being worked on. Progress has been slowed by the crazy weather these last few weeks, but they are in good shape.

Now they are 6 weeks old. I took off the lower plastic a few days ago and yesterday I let them out into the yard.


After a couple hours of playing they all went back into their yard and took a nap.

 

[ourcoop62108]

Just moved our 5 week old chickens out to their coop last night. Worried all night about it. Crazy how attached I have become to them. They seem to love it. My husband went and checked on them and they are huddled in the corner. Is it too cold for them? We live in western IL and this weather can't seem to make up its mind what to do. Is in the mid 40s to 50s at night.

 

[coopmaid]

I'm new to this but, my husband bought some baby chicks, turkeys and two ducklings. The are getting big pretty quick and are currently in a cage my husband built for them. We are not sure how old they are, however, we are needing to know if they ate old enough to stay outside in the chicken coop. We live in North Central Florida and it has been in the 80's here and the nights have been in the upper 50's lately. Would they be ok to stay outside 24/7?

We too live in Florida ...congrats for being a backyard chicken owner I also have chickens, turkeys, and ducks. The weather is great for the critters, but I would not suggest leaving them outside (without covered protection). The coyotes, foxes, and fla planther are known to seek out our pets. I converted an old shed into a coop..... Used milk crates (cut archway for entry) and stacked them as little condos for nesting. The very Top of last milk crate stacked... I placed a cut plywood as the roof. Don't forget the roost area for night .... Strong wood wood sufficiently hold quite a few chickens. Make sure whatever you use that it is secure and no wild animal can get to them. Good luck.

 

[coopmaid]

My store-bought chicks are 10 days old now, but I put them with a hen that had gone broody, so she's taking full care of them.  They've been out in the coop since day one, but with a 'mum' (albeit a surrogate one) to keep them warm at night, so even though it got down to 1°c last night (about 30°f), they were fine this morning.  As long as they are fully feathered, I wouldn't have thought that 54°f was too cold for them, especially if they are in a coop where they can huddle together.

With regard to the fence, my experience is that an 18-inch high fence wil stop a grazing chicken from straying on to next-door's land, but even  6' fence won't necessarily stop a determined (or extremely panicked) chicken from getting where it wants to be.  As long as your chickens are happy where they are, with plenty to keep them occupied, they're not likely to put a lot of effort into flying over a fence.  Mine don't even attempt to get over the 18" high net that separates my back garden from the field next door.  However, when Cinders (a large Marans hybrid, who is usually too ungainly to even get off the ground) got separated from the others behind a 4' high fence, she got so panicked and desperate that she managed to fly over it without even a running start!  Personally, unless you are having a problem with them getting out of where they should be, I would never clip their wings -  all that does is prevent them getting away from a predator, should one ever get into your yard.

As far as night vision goes, there is something about the dark that makes chickens completely docile.  Mine free range all day, and I can't get near them to pick them up.  Night time in the coop is completely different - the only time I can pick them up and check them over, as they are completely dopey.  I wouldn't give them credit for any night vision at all!!!

Lol, I agree with not giving them credit for night vision when I turn out the barn lights at night the 8-10 week old chicks act as if the boogie man is under the bed is gona get them. As soon as I flip the lights back on ....they silent down and relax ..... I put a night light into their coop area and it minimizes their fear of the dark. Strange ....my adult and teenage chicks aren't frighten of the dark as the babies. Maybe, I will research it to see if aging develops night vision.

 

[drwaseem]

dear,
according to my point of view its not good to put ur bird outside in night bcz in night temp goes down.and bird may become the victim of cold strees which leads to hypothermia and respiratory problems

 

[laudreriechicks]

that answered my next question,thank you all very much,my 2 chicks are outside now and will leave them out as they can shelter so it will be fine...

of the 3 tiny chicks,unfortunatly the white one did not make it,but the other 2 seems to be thriving

back to work,will check in again....................

 

[laudreriechicks]

hi violet,

the chicken in your picture,would you know what race that is,

i have 2 of them,now 4 yrs but i dont know

hope you can help me?


.....,laudreriechickens

 

[mpgo4th]

I put mine out at 4 weeks with day temps at 60-70 and night temps 40-50. I left a heat lamp in the coop with them all day and night. I figured they could just go to the other side of the coop if they got hot. After the first night I got up a t6:30 and went to feed them. The coop was about 75 degrees inside and the outside temp was 46F. They love it in the coop as its 8X4 foot and the brooder was a quarter of that. Here is a pic I took of their first morning after sleeping in the coop. Notice the red light.