help! I have a question!!

[amydzek]

how old do the chicks need to be before they can sleep outside in their coop?? they have a run and coop all built but they are living in the laundry room...and driving me NUTS by pooping everywhere....

 

[kitkatnoah]

How old are they? From what I've been reading, the recommended age is 8-9 weeks old, when they're fully feathered. On the other hand, mine are 3 weeks old and are in the coop/run with the big chickens in a separate grower pen. If they're not fully feathered and you still want to move them to their coop, make sure they have adequate warmth from a heat lamp. If its too cold at night you can bring them inside your house and in the morning take them out to the coop for the day, doing this routine just until they are fully feathered. Good luck!

 

[Ed62]

When ours were chicks, we used a kid's swimming pool (the hard plastic kind), with pine shavings in it. I did have to put chicken wire around it to keep them from getting out. With a feeder and waterer, it worked very well. It might be something to consider using for a while.

Ed

 

[gritsar]

Chicks can be brooded outside so long as you can provide them with a predator proof, draft free space that is kept to the temp. necessary per their age. The general rule of thumb for heat is 90 to 95 degrees the first week, decreasing by 5 degrees a week until such time that you are down to 70 degrees (end of week five), at which point they shouldn't require additional heat. Some of this depends on your location and exactly how cold it gets at night this time of year.
I brood chicks in a homemade brooder on our screened porch. We use two heat lamps to start and adjust as necessary. Both heat lamps are double secured, so if one fastener fails, there is no danger of the light falling and starting a fire.

 

[amydzek]

my chickens are like 10 weeks old... I thought they had to come in until they were 6 months old....

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
No way. At ten weeks old, they'll be more than fine outside. The only way you could run into trouble is if you have been keeping them all toasty warm under a heat lamp and then suddenly put them out in a cold coop.
By ten weeks old my chickens are freeranging all day and returning to their (unheated) coop at night.

 

[amydzek]

they have just been living in the laundry room... its not too cold here so there are spending their first night in their locked coop! fingers crossed!

 

[rockinpaints]

Rule of thumb, when their heads are feathered out (last thing to feather) they can go outside.

 

[rockinpaints]

Oops, I should be more clear. They can be kept in an outside coop without heat once they have feathered out. They can go outside to 'play' much earlier

 

[amydzek]

ok their heads have always had feathers on them...am I not understanding something??