Help please - when to put chicks from brooder to coop.

[toofoul]

Hi all
My little Australorps are now 4 weeks old,
They are starting to get that hen shape which is cute and are eating lots of food. They especially like boiled egg. The question I have is that they are getting bigger and they have quite a few feathers now. For now the brooder seems big enough but I have 2 sussex chicks of the same age coming this week and the brooder may be too crowded. The weather at the moment is very cold at night and they have the heat lamp on all day. My questions are (thanks for your patience
1. At what stage can I transfer them from the brooder to the coop? 2
2. Can I set up the heat lamp inside the coop and put them in or will that be too cold for them? 3
3. Also, if so, do I still put roosts in for them in the coop? How high up should I put them considering they are only little?

Thank you

ADRIAN

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I think you answered you own question. If you think it's too cold out, it's too cold to move them to the coop without the heatlamp. How many are there? That will effect how cold the are in the coop too.


You can put up a mini perch if you think they are too small to be roosting. Mine are perching on a roost I have out in the run but there is none in their mini coop right now. They all huddle together.

 

[toofoul]

Hi there. Thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated.
I have 3 Australorps and 2 Sussex (which arrive this weekend). I only have a brooder which is a large plastic ‘tote’ box about 3ft x 1 ft . i feel its getting very crowded in there, although they appear to be happy enough. Some people have suggested that I put them out for a few hours in the coop during the day and bring them into the brooder at night under the lamp. After a while they can be left later and later and then eventually they get used to the night time cold. Maybe I could turn the light off during the day and put it back on before night? Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[cracked_egg]

I'm by no means an expert as I'm raising my first batch of chickens... But I put mine in their coop at 1.5-2weeks.... I had them in a stock tank but there are 25 of them and were getting too crowded... So, I clamped the heat lamp to the roost and popped them in there... That was earlier this week, and so far all are well... They do group together under the light at night, and they seem so much happier! They're even flying more... My coop is a horse stall, no cover to hold in heat, and is 12x13 or 14... And is a little drafty. I worried bout them but there is only so much I can do, and they seem to love it!

 

[evansc3]

When mine got too big for their brooder, I moved them to an old playpen. That was about a month ago. They immediately started breaking out over the top,

(stinkers!) so I put an old window screen on top. They will be 6 weeks old this Saturday. I plan on locking them in their coop this weekend. (Lol. It'll be fully constructed by then. I hope...) I plan to leave them there just for a couple of days and then letting them into their run.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

How large or wattage is the heat lamp? with only 5-6 chicks I would still keep them in at night, and let them out some during the day. They will huddle together for extra warmth, but when they are warm enough and the brooder is large enough for them to not be under the lamp when they dont need it they will go to the other side and rest. that is your indication that they are warm enough. however keep it on because when they need it again, they will huddle under it. at 4 weeks, they should have enough feathers to keep warm with a heat lamp at night even in a little draft...where are you for it to be cold at night?

 

[CamsCluckinChicks]

My husband & I are building a large coop - made from 3 sheds. LOL!

Anyway, when my Rhode Island Red's, Easter Egger's and White Jersey Giant's were all 8 weeks old, I tried putting them in the 'Layer Coop'. 2 Rhode Island's were murdered and 1 Easter Egger had a plucked & bloodied back...This all happened after 2 weeks of everything be fine...and within an hour of my checking on them all!! I removed the survivor's from the Layer's and put them in with my Polish, Silkie's and Cochin (once I took care of the EE's back) and they were ALL immediately adopted by my Cochin - she's a Partridge Bantam - and quite the Mother Hen! LOL!

Ultimately they will go back in with the Layer's, but for now they are safe. I won't put them back until they are full grown...and the Giant's might always live with Polish.

The Silkie's and my Cochin's will have their own 'Crib' with 1 Silkie Roo...and the Polish, 1 Sumatra hen and the Giant's (3 white & 2 black) will have their own 'Crib' with 1 Polish Roo. But I have 9 RIR girls and 4 EE girls (oops - there were 5, but 1 of the li'l cuties is a BOY! LOL!) that will need more room and will need to, in the end, move into the 'Layer Crib'...which is ruled by a Buff Orpington Roo. Ha ha! Good thing I rule the roo's!! I also have a chick order coming in August - the wait is apparently b/c I ordered 2 Bue Laced Red Wyandotte chicks. LOL! I'm going to do the same thing - allow my Silkie/Cochin's to adopt & raise them and when they are full grown, in they go to the Layer's Crib - or at least the ones that are meant to go there. I will also never put less then 2 in the Layer's Crib at a time. I have 5 Red Star's (Sex Links, production birds, etc.), 2 Black Star's & 2 Buff Bantam Brahma's that are horrifyingly brutal & violent towards 'new' chickens. The 2 Brahma's are moving out yet this week. LOL!

That's just been my experience.

 

[pkw]

I have some 4.5 week old New Hampshires and they haven't had a heating lamp at night for a little over a week. The last time I had a heating lamp for them they stayed completely away from it so I removed it. They are nearly fully feathered. The only feathers they have yet to get in fully is the ones on top of their head. My chicks lives in a single wide mobile home so they have lots of space.

 

[featherz]

I just put my 4.5 weekers out today. I'll be a nervous wreck tonight! They haven't needed a heat lamp in around a week - temps in the brooder (ambient, all windows in the room open) have been 68-75 and if I turned the heat lamp none would go near it. I rigged up a 100w bulb in the coop (not on) JUST in case - I have a wireless thermometer in there so I can tell if it's dropping too far but they are almost completely feathered and were getting much too big for my 6'x2' brooder box.

 

[CamsCluckinChicks]

I almost forgot - we've been having upper (Farenheit) 80's during the day and mid to upper 60's at night. However, I haven't had any type of heat for the chicks since they were just about 2 weeks old. There were enough of them they would huddle together, but away from the heat...19 at the time in a crate approximately 4'x4' and 3' high. When I took the EE's and snuck them under one of my Silkie's & my Cochin (they 'mother' together), I still didn't need to use any heat. Down to 15 after moving the EE's out. It was still dropping down into the mid-50's then.