chicks getting cramped....

[purplepeep]

I am sorry if this is a repeated post.

I always try to search first, before I post, but haven't found anything yet...

My chicks are 6 weeks old, and still living in my sunroom.... their coop should be ready for the 'big move'

this weekend. Their giant 14' x 3' brooder is not looking so giant any more, now that there are 32 half-grown chickens in there. As a matter of fact, they are very, very quickly running out of square footage, and are starting to resemble sardines crammed in a can. Ok, I am being dramatic, but they are crowded nonetheless.

I would love to bring them outside for a bit...I suppose one or two at a time...but I am wondering about the weather. We live right on a point, and are surrounded by water on 3 sides. Because of this, it is quite windy here all the time. The temperature is around 20C today, but there is no sun.

Their coop is in the back yard, away from the lake, but I can't bring them over near it because it is still a construction zone...and all the mess that goes with that. Can they tolerate the wind for a bit?? Will they run away?? How do you keep your chickens close by when you bring them outside?? And how do I get them back when it is time to go back in the house????? They are tricky enough to catch when they escape from the brooder and I am chasing them around the sunroom.....what about an acre+ of lawn???

Ugh! Hold on chickies....just a couple more days and you'll be in your new digs....

LOL.

 

[annek]

My chicks are 7weeks old and haven't been outside yet. My coop is almost done, just a few more days. I am too afraid to leave them loose, I have dogs so they will just have to tough it out. Personally I would not let them out unless I had a pen to keep them in. I know a lot of people allow them to free range, but I have seen too many postings on dead and hurt chickens. I don't know that you can keep them nearby without a fence of some sort.

Try giving them a nice container of sand or dirt with some treats in it to keep them occupied. I also throw in a few clumps of grass with the dirt still on it. You only have a few more days like me!

 

[astatula]

A couple or a few at a time will be do-able. They will stay close at first because they will be checking out everything before they start to become adventurous. At 6 weeks old they should be fine in the wind as long as they can get back to a warm area at night.

I had mine outside at 2-3 weeks old because of the opposite reasons, much too hot in the coop and one actually died of too much heat (brooded them outside in the coop). Once they were able to navigate the ramp by themselves, at 4 weeks old, I just leave them out in the morning and they go back in in the evening.

Very low maintenance chicks, but I still keep a close eye on them and will continue to closely monitor their activities until they are 6 months old, then just collect the eggs.

One trick is to have some meal worms ready and in hand to keep them close to you when you take them outdoors. They will follow you anywhere for a meal worm.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

If you have something like a baby's playpen that you can put upside down, they can run around in the grass without running away.

 

[homeschoolmama]

We finally got our 7 week old girls (and I suspect 1 boy) out this week-hooray! Before the coop/run was done we were able to get them outside for a few days. My son and I rigged up a quick little run under the trampoline using the tramp legs to hold up the chicken wire/baby gates we used to make it. It was fairly trashy looking but worked fine. We could only use it when someone was outdoors with them since it wasn't predator proof and we have a cat that kept coming around and our dog could get into it-she would just lick the chickens and eat their food and was generally being annoying. But it did make the last brooder week more tolerable. It is very windy here in the spring and they did fine-spooked them a bit at 1st but they were OK. It was funny the 1st time out tho. My big tall 15yo son sat scrunched up under the tramp with them at 1st and they were all on top of him nervous about the new environment. They got used to it really quickly tho.
So look around and see if there is anything you could use to keep them contained-I was worried too that of I let them in our yard I'de never be able to catch them when I needed them.

 

[purplepeep]

We have a trampoline in our yard too.....hummm.......