Chicks too young to put in coop?

[joeyfender]

I finished my coop today and am ready to move Rufus and Oreo who are 5 weeks old into the coop. But I have a question about the 3 buff orps and 3 Ameraucaunas that are 3 weeks old. Are they ready to be moved into the coop? The Ameraucaunas have a lot of feathers but the buff orps are still getting them in. Can they be moved into the coop? Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

That’s not an easy question to answer, especially since I don’t know what the coop looks like (how draft-proof is it where they will be) or what weather you may have in Texas the next couple of weeks. If it sets in wet for a while you may have more problems than if it is dry.

Last summer when we were in our triple digit heat wave, I turned the heat off in my brooder (it’s in the coop) during the day at 2 days and overnight at 5 days. In the winter I often leave the heat on for 5 weeks, day and night. I’ve seen broodies wean their chicks at 3 weeks and seen broodies take the chicks to the roost at 2 weeks where they slept overnight without any heat from her. Just too many chicks for her to cover. I don’t have a magic age where everything is hunky-dory. It depends on the unique circumstances at the time.

I’d be nervous telling you to put them out at that age without actually being there to look at the situation. I have put 5 week olds in an unheated grow-out coop with good draft protection with the overnight lows getting into the mid-40’s. I have had the overnight low get into the mid-20’s in there when they were less than 6 weeks old.