Cornish Cross 2 weeks old. can they go outside

[OPA Acres]

I have 25 cornish cross chicks that are about 2 weeks old.

Day temps are 75-90 for the foreseeable future. Nights are mid to upper 60s

When can these poop machines go out to a joel salatin'ish style chicken tractor?

Is it too cold at night? They have a heat plate in the boorder but most of them sleep in the middle of the brooder all night and not under the heat plate.

 

[CNJ]

I live on Oahu and have similar temperatures, I took my Cornish roasters from Mcmurray Hatchery out at one month old. They look like regular chicks and then started to change into bowling balls after 1 month. I own a heat pad, but prefer to use a 100 watt bulb rated heat lamp at 99F. I keep the light on with a dimmer switch 24 hours and slowly dim the level of heat every week. When they start sleeping away from the center during the day, I turn the light off, but turn it back on at night, switching on and off up until one month. After they go outside I take the feeder out at night, so they eat what they want in the day, but fast during the night.

If I don't take the feeder out at night they will keep eating through the night, they can see the food with the light from the street. My long galvanized feeder makes a clinking sound when they are eating, so I could hear them.

 

[CNJ]

but most of them sleep in the middle of the brooder all night and not under the heat plate.

If they are tightly cuddled together, that means they are cold and need a heat source.

 

[iwltfum]

I would put them out at that age with those temps. I put my rangers out in salatin pasture pens between 2-3 weeks during the summer. They are totally fine with it.

 

[OPA Acres]

If they are tightly cuddled together, that means they are cold and need a heat source.

Thank you! They definitely do not cuddle... some may be in the same area but they dont cuddle up like my egg layers in the same brooder.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

For all that they are big birds, CornishX are remarkably brittle. Even so, I've always kept mine outside (in the barn), with supplemental heat overnight the first two weeks (high 60s, low 70s overnight when I brought the CX on).

They should be fine in the tractor during the days, assuming you don't get a sudden cold rain, and the tractor is adequate predator protection. Young CX are attractive little balls of protein goodness to almost everything with a taste for chicken.

 

[CNJ]

The Cornish roasters grow at a one week slower pace than the Jumbo Cornish cross, so maybe three weeks will be okay to go outside. I don't think they will miss the extra food at night.

I had white Plymouth Rocks together with my Cornish roasters, but when they were outside they started eating the meaty part of the new feathers on the Cornish roaster. They were turning into cannibals, Its a good thing I caught them doing it on the first day it started, and separated them on time.

 

[onefeathershort]

I'd say you should be good by the end of the week if you have been mindful of heat currently. (Not over done). They will huddle together if they need at night and 25 will be okay to keep each other warm. Draft is the main issue - but by 3 weeks you should be set.

 

[OPA Acres]

Here is a photo right before our second brooder clean out of the day for size and feathering. They are 2 weeks old today.

They need to go outside, lol.. too much poop.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

 

[CNJ]

I prefer the long galvanized or plastic feeders, I don't use the round one for my meat birds anymore. The long ones with the hole on top is okay, but their heads don't fit when they get bigger. The long one with the rod going across on top is better for the bigger chickens, at least their heads can reach the bottom. I screw my feeder on a wood, so it doesn't topple over.