Chicks in southern California (Irvine)

[xshoshin]

I have 6 two week old chicks. We have almost finished the henhouse and run.....it looks like this



I would really like to put them out there next week at 3 weeks old. The nights have been in the 50s and I will be putting their heat lamp in the henhouse on a timer for the nights. The underneath of the house is open but I will put poplar shavings down and I'll put some shavings in a tub they can cuddle in if they want to. I've read everything on BYC I could find about this and overall feel like they will be fine but of course I will still worry since so many people say to keep them inside until 6 weeks old. Please critique my plan and make suggestions! And I want to say thanks to all the people in this forum for their humor and sincere help!

 

[xshoshin]

And of course every mom has pictures of her babies...LOL

 

[xshoshin]

Okay, they are 4 weeks old now and today they went out and it's now full dark. Of course, it's raining. And they are standing around peeping, BUT they did get under the henhouse so they are not standing in the rain. I have a heat lamp out there trained on a nest area up the ramp so they can be toasty whenever they want. I was worried and put one up there in case they'd forgotten, but she just ran right back down the ramp to the sand floor (bottom of henhouse is open) where the rest of them are just hanging out. Now I know chickens aren't the brightest animals on the ark, but surely they will put themselves in the right temperature zone, right? I don't want to be a bad mom or an over-protective one, so I'd appreciate someone with experience to let me know whether to trust these gals or not. Thanks!