I have never incubated eggs before and can't seem to wait until early spring! I live in Maine where winter is full of snow and low temps, but can I get away with the little darlings in the house for some of the winter? What age is too old to be inside or too young to go outside with the other girls? Thanks for any help!
Quote:Only ever passed through Maine (the airport) Never seen so much snow. Don't know about chickens living in those conditions. I know I couldn't I did read about some one keeping them indoors but they wanted them out A.S.A.P. because of the smell. So maybe better to wait a bit. Regards from Germany
The chicks I got in March stayed inside 6 weeks, the ones I have now are almost 1 week and will keep them in long. I figure at 8 weeks I will take them out and see how they act. If they seem cold with the heat lap in the cop I will probably bring them in for a while longer (but I am a softy). I f the box is big enough inside you should be able to keep them in it til you feel comfortable putting them out. Or if you have a garage, or basement you could move them there for a while.
wells,,,lol,, sorry chickens can stay in the house forever,, if you can stand it lol,, and out as babies in maine i would wait until their FULLY feathered, and a good no-draft coop is ready. did ya get the snow last night? hehe , is 70 something here right now lol and before letting them out in the cold, i would make sure you dont keep a light on them for 2 weeks before moving them,, in fact, while in the house, i would only keep a light (heat light) on them for a month at the LONGEST. or they will never acclimate to the outside. if your house stays way warm,, after their wing feathers come in, i would only turn the light on at night when most in maine keep the house cooler. BUT ,, wait for the pro's to answer too,, i do things a little different,, with about the same results ( if not better hehe )
Winter hasnt stopped me...but if you are going to have them in the house for a while it might be best to wait, or if you have a garage or back area of the house(this is what I do), you can use that.
I live in MA and plan on brooding inside and once they are fully feathered...out they go! Wells isn't that bad, as far as Maine is concerned. I think you'd be fine! Just think of all of our friends in the N.West..now that's some serious weather!
Depends how much space you have and whether you mind a little chicken smell (I think they are better than the 8guinea pigs I used to have) and clucking noises. I just hatched some out over the weekend but I'm building a 7'x4' pen in the basement for them to completely feather out. I won't be able to move them to the coop until march and I have 7 large chicks that look like they'll be very large chickens by spring. If you have a well insulated coop with electricity for a few heat lamps, unlike me, you could move them out sooner. The problem might be acclimating them to the outdoors during the coldest part of winter. But then also figure how long you think it will take you to get eggs plus 3 weeks of incubating and your already around Dec by the time you have chicks.
I'm in Vermont, and one year I had a biddy hatch out 5 babies on MLK, Jr. Day (it was well into the teens on the day they were born - ). I do supplement my coop heat to about 40-45 degrees, and of course they had their big old momma to cuddle under.
