First day outside for the chicks! Couple of question for you folks if youd be so kind to answer for

[stcroixusvi]

We just got our first 2 silkies Saturday, 2 week old chicks, and love them and their tiny peeps. But I do remember last year when we moved our first flock outside, I really missed the chatter right before they went to bed. (We kept them in a sun room off our bedroom.) When we did move them outside, we kept them inside the coop for several days while we finished the run. Then when they went outside, they knew exactly where home was at night.

 

[dwegg]

yes for chicks new to their outside coop they do need to be put in at night and shut in until they know that is where they sleep...putting a little light in the coop part also helps them as they will move to the light at night as that is what they are used to from the brooder...

 

[iluvsedward]

I have two silkie chicks in the coop now with no heat lamp(NOT MY FAULT IT WENT OUT AND I CANT FIX IT!!) its pretty cold but I have them with other chickens

....I just wanted to say I got the heat lamp fixed just before we got a bit of cold! Yay!

 

[kittycooks]

Silkies are very hardy. If they choose to sleep away from the heat lamp they are just fine! I've noticed mine like to sleep in a heap and do not prefer a roosting pole, especially when young. My current 22 month old silkies are spending the winter sleeping together in a nesting box.

 

[NightsInWhiteSilkies]

I did buy a solar night light and screwed it into the wall above their food and water dish which the light gives just enough light for then to see where its at but not too bright either. I went and bought a ceramic heat lamp which was spendy but I like it much better then the red heat lamp I used when they were indoors. Great investment on that!

I posted this already but wanted more opinions...

So here is a photo of the way my coop runner is set up. Its 5 ft by 7 ft big. They dont get to roam outside of it so this is where they live and walk around permanently. The ground is soft dirt with pebbles in it. Ive had plastic surrounding the runner so the rain cant get inside and get the ground wet. Where I live it rains alot!
My question is ....
Leave the ground as is with soft dirt for them to forage and scratch at or fill it with sand a few inches deep?
I didnt think about this when I had it built on which would be better for me when the time comes to clean it.
I dont mind digging up the dirt and turning it over every few weeks or months if its better for a chicken to forage rather than fill it with sand. I thought it would be better for them to find bugs and scratch around leaving it all dirt ground instead of adding sand to it.
If I leave it as dirt is it better to dig it up a little and turn it over or remmove the dirt mixed with poop completly out of the area and dump it?

Sand? or Dirt?