I'm a new chicken mommy! My chicks are 5 weeks old and need to go outside! They are flying out of their 3 ft high brooder and are flying around the bedroom we have them in! (It'll take me a month to clean all the dust out of there! ) My question is what is the easiest and least stressful way to move 20 chicks!!! Coop is all ready. We live in Nebraska... Days have been in the 70s and 80s, nights get cooler around high 60s! I just don't want to stress them or scare them too much! Thanks so much!
A good time to move chicks is in the dark when they are pretty docile. But they are pretty resilient and I just move mine in a tote or a box with a lid. They will be just fine. And at that age they have most of their feathers and with 20 of them sharing body heat they should be fine. I like to move them in the warmth of the day so they get used to their new digs but to each his or her own. God luck and don't stress it. They're gonna be fine!
You don't mention having a run. A good way to transition chicks outdoors is to take them out for day trips to their run for a few days before moving them into the coop to sleep. It gets them used to their new surroundings while introducing them to outdoor temps. On the permanent moving day, I like to install the chicks in the coop, with food and water, early in the day and let them romp around inside the coop adjusting to being there. By night time, they are used to being in the coop and should just find a place to sleep with little or no drama. In the morning, let them out into the run. When night comes, you may need to show them how to go back into the coop to sleep. Having a small night light will help with this little lesson. I wouldn't be concerned with supplemental heat at this stage.
Thank you so much! Yes I do have a nice, 16'x12' completely enclosed run! I will probably move them out tomorrow morning so they'll have the entire day to explore and get used to their new home! I had considered putting the brooder inside the coop to make them feel safe, but not sure if that's a good idea or not???? Thank you, again, for the advice!!!!:
I would put them out in the coop during the day so it won' be a shock at new nighttime temperatures. I put mine in the coop showed them the auto waterer and food and walked out into the run. They immediately followed me into the run and started scratching around. Then I walked back into the coop making them use the auto door.I checked them when it got dark to make sure they all got in the coop because I have an auto door. Most of them were up on the roost. Don't overthink it.
