I am getting ready to order my first batch of shicks and need to know a few things first.. 1.How long will they be in the brooder before I can take them outside to the coop. 2.I figure by the time they are ready to be pu tin the coop winter will be knocking and I have no heat in my coop, what do i do? 3. I am ordering a mix of 25 barred rock and RIR's.. I know they have to feather out before going out into the cold but what does one do with them when they get almost ready as far as caging? Thank you in advance!
I'd keep them in the brooder for at least 6 weeks, but if that's not possible (25 is a lot to clean up after) , you could partition off a part of the coop, as long as you block any drafts and keep them dry with some straw or something to nestle in, they'll be ok.
It is ok not to have heat in your hen house as long as they are feathered out. When they start getting big, messy and spastic yet you do not feel confortable putting them outside in the hen house (for me it starts around 3-4 weeks), you could put them in the garage or basement. We took a corner and lined the floor with a tarp, put wood chips on it, and put up peices of plywood around it (I think we held the plywood up with cinder blocks). You can fix up your brooder light as well. You will just have to find something to make taller walls than the original brooder (unless it already had them) - you may also have to put plastic chicken wire or the like over the top b/c they will be able to fly up to the edge. They will start producing alot of dust at about 3 weeks old and will be getting roudy - you will be anxious to get them out of your house if that is what you are planning on doing. You can also put them in the henhouse with the brooder light before they are totally feathered out. Just make sure it is predator proof and the brooder light is super secure so there is not chance of it falling.
I put my last batch of 26 out in the coop at 3 weeks with a red heat lamp. Today should be in upper 70's so I'll let them out to the run for a while. We have a small coop next to the big one and a section of the run blocked to keep them from the older birds.
