General rule of thumb that I heard is to wait until chicks stop peeping and making little chick noises....and, of course, if you're in a cold climate you want them feathered (about 6 weeks). I put my two younger birds that had outgrown their stay in the guest room in a wire dog kennel (folding box crate) with food and water and let them live in the coop for two full weeks before I opened the door. They got chased around a bit and needed a separate feed pan, but now are accepted. It was fairly seamless without blood, feather loss or terror. We've got one bully RSL hen who still lunges at them if they're within a foot of her, but they can fly and easily just go to a level that she's not at.
Dysons are GREAT! Splurging, I got one off of some TV home shopping channel and am just amazed every vacuuming how much it picks up. (we have one very sheddy dog)
Also have a Bissell Power Brush carpet shampooer (like a jetted wet vacuum) and a Eureka Enviro floor steamer. You'd think with all the geegaws mine would be a spotless house, but I'll be the first to concede my interests are elsewhere.
