how do i introduce my chickens to the outside?

[blackfishfin]

the coop is about to be ready. few more things to work on. i still have the heat lamps on since it’s been getting in the 30s at night. they aren’t outside. it just gets cold where they are. will they adapt to the soil? should i put a little soil where they are at now so they get accommodated to it?

No, you don't have to do that, either! If you get them a little dry dirt/sand bin they will probably dust bathe in it. I like to put a big box of dry dirt and put some dried mealworms in it and the chickens love it!

 

[olivetree]

Make sure the coop is done and 100% predator proof first. If you want them to aclimate to the outside, do it during the day when it's warmer. 30's is too cold for chicks. Be careful chicks and ducklings fall prey to hawks so if you take them outside without the coop, don't take your eyes off them. If you built a run that's awesome. Dirt wont get them sick, it's the coccidiosis in the dirt that can make them sick. Medicated chick starter has amprolium in it which kills the cocci. The ducks in the other had can go out soon, baby ducks are much more hardy than baby chicks. Do you have the ducks and chicks together?

so i have an eagles nest in my back yard right across the river so i’m really gonna make it predators proof lol but i’m actually choosing to not medicate my chicks. is there another way to prevent this? i’ve been giving them apple cider vinegar in their food every day. i do have the ducks and chicks together and oh man are the ducks getting big. i will probably take them out soon

 

[SilkiesnFrizzle]

ACV are good probiotics but doesn't provide protection from coccidiosis, which is problematic with chicks, which the feed has. Your feed choice is fine just if you ever see them lethargic or puffed up that might be the problem.

 

[olivetree]

what do you mean by puffed up??

 

[tenenbaum]

This week I added three baby chicks to my flock of three 1.5 year old chickens. Unlike what is generally recommended, I don't use a heat lamp and instead use a heat pad (see pics). They get inside the pad when they need to warm up. I keep them in the garage at night. During the day if I am working in the yard (which I do now because of the lock-down) they run around free, though I always keep an eye on them. Otherwise they stay in a run outside. Either way they are outside from dawn to dusk.

I believe that no matter how young they are, baby chicks should be able to roam around outside, preferably in an area with plants; they love hanging out in my vegetable area. They are very curious and active from day one and need an enriched (and safe) environment, which I think involves open air, sunlight, access to plants & bugs. I think it is prudent to still make a warming up station available, so I move the heating pad to outside just so that they can get warm during breaks from running around in the yard. Today was quite warm (i live in the south east) and they didn't need it at all. Today was their sixth day (on earth), they caught a baby woodroach and an earthworm, and ate several other earthworms that I dug out for them. I have three free range hens and they don't seem to be too interested in the chicks so far.

 

[olivetree]

so we are putting the finishing touches on the coop and the run. they should be outside later this week. they are in a big area where they can rome right now, just not outside. it snowed here a couple days ago so that’s why i keep them inside. you never know with indiana weather lol but since it’s been nice the last couple days ive been taking them outside. just have to watch out for the eagle. i wanted to ask, how do you grow crops without your chickens digging them up?? we are wanting to grow crops in the big run we have for them but thought the ducks and chicken might eat the roots

 

[blackfishfin]

so we are putting the finishing touches on the coop and the run. they should be outside later this week. they are in a big area where they can rome right now, just not outside. it snowed here a couple days ago so that’s why i keep them inside. you never know with indiana weather lol but since it’s been nice the last couple days ive been taking them outside. just have to watch out for the eagle. i wanted to ask, how do you grow crops without your chickens digging them up?? we are wanting to grow crops in the big run we have for them but thought the ducks and chicken might eat the roots

It depends on the crops. Our chickens barely touched most of our gardens. As long as they have other places to dust in, they should leave it alone. If you have a strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry bush you might want to block it off because they will definitely eat them. Our chickens, for some reason, were really only interested in eating the lettuce sprouts that we had growing.

 

[tenenbaum]

so we are putting the finishing touches on the coop and the run. they should be outside later this week. they are in a big area where they can rome right now, just not outside. it snowed here a couple days ago so that’s why i keep them inside. you never know with indiana weather lol but since it’s been nice the last couple days ive been taking them outside. just have to watch out for the eagle. i wanted to ask, how do you grow crops without your chickens digging them up?? we are wanting to grow crops in the big run we have for them but thought the ducks and chicken might eat the roots

Overall, in my experience, the hens would eventually dig and kill any newly planted vegetable, fruit tree, or shrub. I think there tends to be more insects around roots, so they prefer to dig around plants.

I have a web fence around two of my vegetable garden areas. Last year the hens annihilated most of my seedlings, so this year I decided to fence them in. The web grid is small enough to prevent the hens to get in and large enough for the chicks to go in and out. That is their favorite site actually. The hens love digging around the roots of any plant. With the grown fruit trees this is not a problem because I have mulch & pine needles all over the place and even when the hens dig the soil I supplement it with more soil from the compost site (which is a favorite site for the hens). With seedlings & small trees this is a problem though. I have some vegetables planted in beds that don't have the web fence and for those I make a cage from branches from the trimmed trees.

I also have grapes, under which the hens love hanging out and taking dust baths. I keep on adding more soil under them since the hens make holes close to the roots. They have established root systems (3 yrs) and don't seem to be harmed. If anything they probably benefit from the fertilizer coming from the hens.

BTW, we don't have eagles where we live but there are many hawks. There were a few close calls with the hens before. To protect the hens, as a hawk deterrent I hung a bunch of old compact disks from the big trees & the gutters. I took two disks and put them together in a way that the shiny parts face out and attached a string from the middle hole. I also ordered a mix of sparkly things made to deter birds (some of them are wind rods, some are owl shaped etc.) and hung them again all over the place. All this stuff looks bad but they have been really effective and we haven't had any hawk attacks for months. The yard looks like a disco with all the reflection from the stuff hung moves around! Also, last week I added an owl decoy on top of the grapevine trellis, which is about 8 feet long. Seeing how much the hens enjoy being free (within the confines of the yard fence of course), I can't get myself to limit them to a run. With all the deterrent, the trees, shrubs & vines providing cover I think they are safe enough.