Cardinal rookie mistake?

[dblankin]

We'll, I got 5 Doms from a local hatchery so I'm excited and super nervous. It's freezing cold here in Alabama but I've got the heat lamp on them and so far - okay.

However, my coop is not finished and I need to know how many weeks old the hens need to be before they go in the coop?

 

[coffeychicks]

I go by the rule of thumb of being feathered out in the winter time. Summer time isn't a major deal

 

[lazy gardener]

Do you have other chickens, or are these your first? If they're your first, they can go in with extra heat as soon as it's finished. If they're fully feathered, they shouldn't need the extra heat. Be sure that when you're brooding them, you decrease the temp. a bit every week, and that they have space in the brooder that is not warm. As they get older, you can turn the light off for a bit every day to help them acclimate to colder temps... much as you would harden off tender seedlings before planting them outside. Read the brooding threads for specifics regarding space and temperature needs for chicks. I'll be getting some Dom chicks this spring. Hoping that this time, the hatchery actually gives me pullets instead of roos!

 

[dblankin]

Very first ones! Thanks for the advice! I was up 3 times last night worried about them!

Next I have to figure out which are pullets and which are Roos!

 

[coffeychicks]

My luck is always the sweetest babies turn out to be roos. No proof to it but my luck. Best of luck to you

 

[SD Bird Lady]

We'll, I got 5 Doms from a local hatchery so I'm excited and super nervous. It's freezing cold here in Alabama but I've got the heat lamp on them and so far - okay.

However, my coop is not finished and I need to know how many weeks old the hens need to be before they go in the coop?

I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers .... get it??? haha But, what do you define as freezing? I know that it can vary greatly by region. Basically as long as you can keep the area directly under the heat lamp around 90-95F and draft free they will be fine indoors or out. Make sure they can move away from the heat if they feel the need.

 

[dblankin]

We got about an inch of snow last night so for Bama, it's cold!

My good friend Bennie let me borrow his homemade brooder. Great box with lamp for warmth and a plexiglas front for entertainment! They should be cozy tonight.

 

[aleebama]

I am in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Picked up 8 Cuckoo Marans Friday. They're in a Rubermaid in my cozy kitchen until this weather breaks.

 

[Secretlyspotted]

I live in GA- and I can almost see the AL boarder from my house! It is cold here. And I'm SICK of it. I'm currently brooding 15 chicks in my house. I plan on having them OUT by 8 weeks. We *should* be having warmer temps by then. I'm not using a heat lamp- we have an Ecoglow- so I don't know about adjusting it.
What I'm going to do is around six weeks I'm going to start putting them out for a couple hours during the day- gradually increasing it. Then I'll move the Ecoglow out there around 8 weeks for their first couple nights.
To answer what I think was your question- hens don't ever *have* to go in the coop. Plenty of people have house chickens! LOL. But I know I'm gonna be sick and tired of chickens in the house by the first of April and they can be big girls then.

 

[swimM4r]

I put mine in a Rubbermaid too. I have a 250wawtt red heat lamp on them though, but this allows me to keep em in my garage until they are big. And its cold here at night, as low as single digits. the heat lamp works though, maybe to well even. The bulb is worth keeping them in the garage and not the house.