HELP..Chicks are 2 1/2 weeks can they go OUT?

[Jenifer72]

OK...I'm more than sick of the chicks being in my diningroom! We just got new carpet 2 months ago and these chicks are starting to make dust! I totally clean the brooder once a day...new bedding, food water. I want them to be OUT! I have 2 enclosed porches on my house, they are not heated. The lows the next couple nights are in the 30's...highs during the day about 60.....would they be ok out there with the heat lamp?

 

[noitulover]

If the lows are in the 30s, I would say no... Not at 2 1/2 weeks... at 4 weeks they could go out with a heat lamp, but at 2 weeks they probably only have wing feathers and little to no body feathering... (i have two and a half week olds at my house right now)...

they are way too small and unfeathered to be in those temps, even with a heat lamp... 30 degrees is freezing and 1 heat lamp won't do it...

be patient and wait another 1.5 to 2 weeks!

chicks are very tiny creatures and when we choose to get them, we have an obligation to take care of them. they didn't choose to get us, we chose to get them...

if it is 60 degrees during the day, i am sure it would be okay to put them outside during the day with a heat lamp, but you would need to bring them in at night.

 

[maizie]

Do they have their feathers or are they still fuzzy? Or half and half?

 

[noitulover]

at 2 and a half weeks, there is no way they are fully feathered out, or even half and half, unless they are cornish X...

 

[bethinoklahoma]

Test a brooder out and see if you can keep the temps right....
Test first act second....

 

[esthermgr]

Do you have a less desirable part of your home you could move them to? Sometimes we put ours in our unfinished basement. It's not pretty in there but the temp is higher than outside and there is a socket for a heat lamp. Perhaps you have a garage or a basement, or even a corner of the kitchen or bathroom where their dust would be easier to clean up?

Also, what container are they in? I have mine in a huge rubbermaid bin with high sides (no lid on it of course). My chicks are also 2.5 wks old and hardly any dust or scratch escapes the bin as they eat and play. You might consider switching them to a bigger container with higher sides.

 

[Jenifer72]

Quote:
Thanks for the info! I'll put them out on the porch during the day and back in in the evening.

 

[Jenifer72]

Quote:
They are RIRs...they have their wings and tail feathers on some of them.

 

[noitulover]

no problem! good luck! (i know that dust is something horrid!)

just think, only about 12-14 days until they can go out! hahaha

 

[Jenifer72]

Quote:
I do have mine in a very large rubbermaid with chicken wire on the lid (like others here have) I have started to see the dust on the lamp and on a stand that sits next to the brooder....From what I have read I can expect that now they are getting feathers that they will create more dust?