Couldn't do it...... Edit... We made it!, pg 3

I usually kick mine out at a few days old and take heat away at 6 weeks or so when it's about 40 out. To help them transition from being inside, put the light out for them and slowly dim it out till they don't need it anymore. As long as the coop is secure, they will be just fine! Set them up on the roosts for a few nights and they will learn that is where to sleep and not pile.
 
It's getting close to that time for me too and I am kinda dreading putting my babies out in their coop!!! It will be good tho cuz they will have alot more room to stretch their wings and play! I don't know how that's gonna work out for me at all tho!
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I might have to bring a sleeping bag an hang out there with them!
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I am glad I am not the only one that feels like that!!!
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Hang out all you want, that's fine, but let them have their dirt and grass to peck and scratch in. That's what chickens do.
 
I've been putting our chicks in their coop/run during the mornings, to get them used to it. They go in their playpen on my screened breezeway in the afternoons because it gets too hot in the coop/run (I haven't roofed it yet, it's just got hardware cloth). Plus, I really enjoy sitting somewhere that the mosquitoes can't get me to watch the chicks cavort.

At night, they sleep inside the house in their old brooder, even though they haven't needed any supplemental heat for more than a week. They're ready to be outside...I'm just not ready to put them there.
 
I am so glad I am not the only one to feel like this.

I have been taking mine out for the past two weeks during the day (when it's not raining) so they can play in the grass. I just keep them in a cage with a sheet on top.

They are so cute. I am really going to try to let them stay out tonight. They will love it out there once they get used to it.

I will probably love not having shavings and dust all over everything once I get used to it too!
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as hard as i may seem, you gotta make them sleep in the coop. they're plenty old enough to sta out there. :\\ and i live on the Ohio River, and we get cooler breezes off of it in early summer. :] its nice
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Sounds like there were a lot of us back and forth to the coop last night! We just finished ours yesterday, ok 95% done, there's always something else I can think of to put in there or decorate. We were down to the upper 40's and I piled the coop with straw so they could stay warm. Mine are 51/2 weeks up to 8weeks and it was their first night out. I ran an extention cord out there, because there's no electricity yet ( another thing to add) just to heat it up a little, then I worried about a fire, so that lasted about and hour. I thought about leaving the dog in the yard, she thinks she's part of the flock, and our cat out for protection. SOME protection, the dog may bark, but what is a thirteen yr old cat going to do? I tossed and turned all night thinking- are they cold? ,is the fence strong enough?, will I hear something if a predator comes? I read somewhere someone uses a baby monitor-smart, something else to add. After all they ARE our babies!
 
I just put my last 4 babies outside last night and man, was it hard! Two of them are 8 weeks (one of the a special needs chick) and the other two 4 weeks, so ready to be outside, but I knew they were scared when I shut the coop door. I was up extra early to check on them and the banties that I moved over with the standards. Was worried about the Silkies but everyone is doing just great today! It's hard being a chicken momma!
 
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I am so jealous. I checked the outdoor temp last night at 10 p.m. and it had cooled down to 90 degrees (we live in North Texas).

We usually go to Colorado for a two week vacation this time of year, but because of economic reasons, we decided to stay home this summer. At least it lets us raise chickens, something we couldn't have done while away on vacation....
 
I am so jealous. I checked the outdoor temp last night at 10 p.m. and it had cooled down to 90 degrees (we live in North Texas).

Elmo,
We just moved here from Austin, feeling guilty having to put on a sweater at night, but loving it! We just started raising chickens too! What a fun hobby, Hope you make it to Colorado soon!
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