Help! Need to move 6 week old chicks

[Annabellaa]

I have taken on raising chicks and although I thought I knew what I was getting into, boy was I wrong! My chicks are 6 weeks old and up until now the weather has been fairly nice (located in canada). But the weather is about to start dropping and my 5 chicks have completely outgrown all of the different stages of indoor containers and coops I have made for them. I have an insulated coop for outdoors but I am worried they will not be able to survive the negative temperatures coming up. They seem to be fully feathered and quite large. I have one remaining hen from my old flock and I do not want to spring all 5 of them on her at once so I am putting them in a coop with her but with some fencing between them. Will they be warm enough to survive temperatures as low as -3 at night? Should I give them a few more weeks, or will it be too cold at that point? I really don’t want to sell them but if I am putting them in danger I will have to. Please, any advice will help!!

 

[cavemanrich]

At -3C it is not that cold yet. I would put all the chicks at one time into your coop. Observe, and see the interaction of your senior hen. You can use a separator if needed. Best to do the introduction inside the run area. You can see the interaction during daytime. Make sure that you have multiple feed stations,,, at least initially. A dish/bowl in a few spots works fine. Also water in a few separate spots. Any container will work,, and offer it only during daytime. Chickens do not need feed , or water during night-time.
In another 2 weeks, they will generally be completely feathered out. (8 weeks)
In this 2 week time period, they will hardy up to the current conditions. (Autumn cool) This stimulates feather, and down growth/development.
Offer them plenty of high protein feed. Protein is needed for good feather growth. You can add additional protein to their diet with some added cat food. Dry, or canned works same. I prefer to offer dry,,,,,, well, the chickens help themselves when they can.. View Avatar..

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[FC16]

At -3°C I really wouldn’t worry at all, are they roosting or laying on bedding at night? Either way you have 5 which is good so they can huddle in close. If they’re near enough fully feathered as well they should be fine I think.

 

[Annabellaa]

At -3C it is not that cold yet. I would put all the chicks at one time into your coop. Observe, and see the interaction of your senior hen. You can use a separator if needed. Best to do the introduction inside the run area. You can see the interaction during daytime. Make sure that you have multiple feed stations,,, at least initially. A dish/bowl in a few spots works fine. Also water in a few separate spots. Any container will work,, and offer it only during daytime. Chickens do not need feed , or water during night-time.
In another 2 weeks, they will generally be completely feathered out. (8 weeks)
In this 2 week time period, they will hardy up to the current conditions. (Autumn cool) This stimulates feather, and down growth/development.
Offer them plenty of high protein feed. Protein is needed for good feather growth. You can add additional protein to their diet with some added cat food. Dry, or canned works same. I prefer to offer dry,,,,,, well, the chickens help themselves when they can.. View Avatar..

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

Thank you so much! I have introduced them here and there in my yard in a cage and they don’t seem to bothered by one another but I’m sure that will change once they are no longer separated. Is there a brand of dog/cat food that is safest or is it all the same?

 

[Annabellaa]

At -3°C I really wouldn’t worry at all, are they roosting or laying on bedding at night? Either way you have 5 which is good so they can huddle in close. If they’re near enough fully feathered as well they should be fine I think.

They are laying on bedding at night currently. They climb on everything but their roost haha. My hope is that eventually with my senior hen they will help keep her warm too but I don’t want to force it too soon and risk her being hurt. Thank you! I appreciate the help I’m flying blind

 

[cavemanrich]

Is there a brand of dog/cat food that is safest or is it all the same?

Brand ,,,, no difference. Cat food is higher in protein than dog food. You just add a small amount, and their protein intake improves well.
Here is a tip. Too much protein in a chickens diet,,,, (regardless where it came from, even eating insects) the signs are;; Runnier stools, and smellier as well. No harm to chickens. That would only indicate to decrease the amount slightly. Eventually when all is normal, feed your chickens 18% protein, and things should be good. Many layer feeds are 16% protein. That is the minimum needed for egg production. Protein is an expensive ingredient in feed, so that is why many suppliers try to keep it at minimum.
There are many other High Protein feeds out there available. Some are for more specific breeds like Game Fowl. I'm only including this ,,,, so peeps don't rush to correct me immediately.

 

[FC16]

They are laying on bedding at night currently. They climb on everything but their roost haha. My hope is that eventually with my senior hen they will help keep her warm too but I don’t want to force it too soon and risk her being hurt. Thank you! I appreciate the help I’m flying blind

Yeah with lots of bedding they will all huddle together and be warm enough I probably wouldn’t put a fully grown hen in with the chicks just yet, as she would probably attack them. The fact that they can see each other though is really good so they can get used to each other. But every chicken is different obviously, I have a hen who doesn’t mind chicks at all (even when she isn’t broody). How does she react to them when she sees them through the fence? I have another hen who tries to peck the chicks through the fence so I’d never mix them until they’re older.
If she’s on her own though she might appreciate the company as chickens like to be around other chickens. You’ve just got to try read the signals really I found wishing you the best of luck

 

[Annabellaa]

Brand ,,,, no difference. Cat food is higher in protein than dog food. You just add a small amount, and their protein intake improves well.
Here is a tip. Too much protein in a chickens diet,,,, (regardless where it came from, even eating insects) the signs are;; Runnier stools, and smellier as well. No harm to chickens. That would only indicate to decrease the amount slightly. Eventually when all is normal, feed your chickens 18% protein, and things should be good. Many layer feeds are 16% protein. That is the minimum needed for egg production. Protein is an expensive ingredient in feed, so that is why many suppliers try to keep it at minimum.
There are many other High Protein feeds out there available. Some are for more specific breeds like Game Fowl. I'm only including this ,,,, so peeps don't rush to correct me immediately.

That’s awesome thank you so much!

 

[Annabellaa]

Yeah with lots of bedding they will all huddle together and be warm enough I probably wouldn’t put a fully grown hen in with the chicks just yet, as she would probably attack them. The fact that they can see each other though is really good so they can get used to each other. But every chicken is different obviously, I have a hen who doesn’t mind chicks at all (even when she isn’t broody). How does she react to them when she sees them through the fence? I have another hen who tries to peck the chicks through the fence so I’d never mix them until they’re older.
If she’s on her own though she might appreciate the company as chickens like to be around other chickens. You’ve just got to try read the signals really I found wishing you the best of luck

She doesn’t seem to happy with their presence to be fair lol. She attempts to peck through the fence quite a bit. They are quite large now almost her size so I’m worried there will be a war when I fully allow them to integrate. My other worry is I got my senior hen as an adult so her beak was trimmed when I got her and quite dull whereas the chicks are so sharp they hurt when they peck me, I’m worried they will do damage to her 5vs1

 

[Uwish]

I have taken on raising chicks and although I thought I knew what I was getting into, boy was I wrong! My chicks are 6 weeks old and up until now the weather has been fairly nice (located in canada). But the weather is about to start dropping and my 5 chicks have completely outgrown all of the different stages of indoor containers and coops I have made for them. I have an insulated coop for outdoors but I am worried they will not be able to survive the negative temperatures coming up. They seem to be fully feathered and quite large. I have one remaining hen from my old flock and I do not want to spring all 5 of them on her at once so I am putting them in a coop with her but with some fencing between them. Will they be warm enough to survive temperatures as low as -3 at night? Should I give them a few more weeks, or will it be too cold at that point? I really don’t want to sell them but if I am putting them in danger I will have to. Please, any advice will help!!

Why not just add a heat plate or lamp in with them? I don’t even expect my grown chickens and roosters to handle that low of temp. I have seen to many feet frozen to different objects at 20degrees Fahrenheit. (Not my birds but neighbors) I always give a heat source when it is freezing temps. My chickens and roosters won’t even come out of their coops when is cold cold or lots of snow on the ground. (Some say I’m ridiculous or they can handle it or my birds are spoiled) I’m ok with that. No one wants to be cold cold so I do what I can to at least make it tolerable for them. At that young I would definitely put a heat source for them especially if you are moving them from indoors to out as it’s still going to be a shock on them. Just my opinion