Can I put my chicks out during the day?

[Nanadeb64]

Mine have a room i keep them in they are 8 wks now they have been in there since 4 weeks I open the door and they come and go....I keep a heat lamp on my little ones they are 2 weeks they huddle on top on the little ones cage around the lamp works out great and near sunset they get back in the room I just have to close the door...they are very spoiled...lol LOVE MY BABIES

 

[bilder]

Put mine out at 4 weeks with a lamp on in the pen in case they got chilly. No problems at all. They roam around during the day and pile up under the light at night. Had a couple days where the low temp hit 33-35 degrees and they did fine.

 

[Czechski]

Thanks everyone, for helping us new-bies.
Getting them used to not having a heat lamp indoors before putting them out permanently sounds like a good idea.
Here in South Central PA, it's been pretty cold in early April, with a few days of sun and temps to 45-50s. I wrapped some chicken wire around 4 posts on the grass and let the 2.5 week chickies play while I watched. They did not huddle, but ran around like a gang, pecking the grass and rolling in a tiny spot of dirt.

I only kept 2 of the 6 (not zoned, so these are my "pets"). They are still in a cardboard box, with heat lamp gradually tilted up to reduce the temperature 5 degrees each week.
Just got the chicken coop today from a friend, made from a recycled crate.

Now nights are in the 40s and days in 50-60s. Perfect for the 4 and half- 5 week chicks, right?

 

[jimmywalt]

We're in Michigan, still pretty cold most days and into the 30s a lot of nights. We let our 6 week old chicks run around the yard when we're outside playing, and bring them back in when we're done. I figure on the chilly days, if my kids are too cold and ready to go in, the chicks are cold too!

We live in west Michigan and have 3 ISA Browns (5 wk old), 1 Bantam (5 wk old) and 1 easter egger (4 wk old).

They moved from the brooder box in the basement to the coop I built and have in our garage this morning. The coop gets up to 85 degrees with the window shut and the heat light on. Tonight it's supposed to get in the mid 40's and I'm not sure if I should leave the light on tonight or just let them huddle up together. Can they even find each other in the dark? The day time temps are in the upper 50's to low 60's right now outside.

What should I do? Light at night or no light? (heat light).

 

[ccowan]

We have had a cold start to spring here, which also has slowed the building of our coop. Today however was beautiful, we got coop mostly done and our chicks spent the day outside. Hoping tomorrow night to have them in coop, 18 chickens in our living room is getting to be a bit crazy.

 

[AngieUpNorth]

Here in the Arrowhead Region of NE Minnesota, we're thrilled to have gotten 2 consecutive days of 65 degree weather!

We got 22" in one day last week and have been just getting pounded with snow for several weeks. Here are our 9 week olds enjoying their first day outside. They spent 3 hours out there and other than cold feet, some of them even roosted on some lumber and napped. I brought them in today since our nights are still getting down to the mid 20's at night. Anybody have ideas when I could let them stay in the coop overnight?

 

[foxmfan1]

live in texas, so we are far away from the cold weather, right now, but my ladies have been outside since the third day i brought them home, I made them a small pen and they free ranged in it for most of the day, and i would just bring them in at night, fast forward to the present, now they are pretty much outside all the time, they stay in their pen and coop out in the yard, i just roll their coop in under the patio at night for now. Only becuase I still have to fence in a secure area for their coop, and stain/ paint/ finish their coop

 

[foxmfan1]

live in texas, so we are far away from the cold weather, right now, but my ladies have been outside since the third day i brought them home, I made them a small pen and they free ranged in it for most of the day, and i would just bring them in at night, fast forward to the present, now they are pretty much outside all the time, they stay in their pen and coop out in the yard, i just roll their coop in under the patio at night for now. Only becuase I still have to fence in a secure area for their coop, and stain/ paint/ finish their coop

im sorry i hit post to soon, I wanted to add, that if your ladies have all their feathers, they should be ok outside, during the day,put them in the part of the yard that gets the most sun during the day, and they will learn to acclimate themselves, if they get cold they will find a warm spot or huddle together in a corner to keep warm, if they are too hot, they will spread out and dig out a bit of dirt patch that is cool. If you have a portable heater for their coop or area they are in, that might help to keep the temp up, while they are still outside and getting used to living a coop life : ) , Me personally I think its better that they be out as much as possible, the younger the better, it helps build them up to get used to the conditions they will be living in.

 

[WhirlyChic]

I'm a brand new chick mom too and I'm so glad I found this site as you all have answered all my questions and concerns about putting my "babies" outside In the cool spring nights! They've been in a heated garage for 8 weeks now. They are about 9 and 10 weeks old...fully feathered and getting anxious to move out of their little cooped up area. Our 8x9 chicken palace is almost finished, just waiting to get their fully protected run finished before moving them to their new home. I know I won't sleep the first night they're out there! I have 5 Rhode Island Reds and 5 Buff Brahmas. When do they start laying eggs? Also I'm still feeding them chick starter, plus some treats....like lettuce and cantelope. They eat a lot! When should I change their food and what kind?

 

[jimmywalt]

For those of you that let your chicks our in the yard during the day what keeps them from flying away or running away?

We have 5 chicks that are about 5 weeks old. They spent there first night in the garage last night without a heat light. It was 54 degrees at 6AM this morning so I hope they didn't get too cold. I turned on the heat lamp this morning and the temp got up to 65 pretty fast.

We live in a small subdivision with houses all around us. Everyone has a 6' privacy fence around their lot. I'm worried that if I were to let them in the back yard they would fly away or somehow get to somewhere where I couldn't get them. I've read that full grown chickens can jump/fly 6 to 8 feet. I have no idea how high or far these girls could go, but I don't want to take any chances - 2 neighbors have big dogs.

Three questions
1. Is 54 degrees too cold at night at 5 wks old?
2. Will they fly away over a 6' fence?
3. Can they see in the pitch black of night like some other animals can?

Thank you.