How do I send my chicks to the coop?

[CHIC]

Mine are 7 weeks old and STILL in the garage. It's killing me. I have a sortof mean hen in one coop so I don't wanna put them in there. In the other coop, I have chickens I bought grown and found that they were sick over a month ago but I still don't wanna take any chances with my babies! I don't know what I am going to end up doing.

 

[chickenlady81]

This is what i have my chicks in until they are ready to go outside.

Its in my basement. i keep them in the house until they are starting to feather and then move them to the basement until they are completly feathered out. Its works really well and keep the dust outta my house

 

[bibliophile birds]

don't forget that they are used to a constant light source when the heat bulbs are on. my 7 week old chicks haven't needed heat for about a week, but i'm still weening them off the "nightlight." when i turned the lights out the first night without heat (they'd been getting heat only at night for a week at that point) they completely piled up, like they would have if they were cold. i knew they weren't cold, since it was the exact temperature they had been at for the last hour or so, so it had to be the light.

as you start to lower the temperature in the brooder or take the light out all together during the day, make sure you give them about 30 mins of darkness each day until they realize that it's nothing to be afraid of. after the light has been out for the 30 mins, i'm moving the beam of light further up the wall each night. in a few days the light will be pointed completely away from the brooder and just giving a little ambient light.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I'm the same way bonnylass! I think we just brood chicks differently in warm weather states. I'm in Texas and my chicks go outside at 2-3 weeks. They had a heater all day for a week and then just at nights. At 5 weeks I turned the heater off. Mine are now 7 weeks old and doing great. It's 40s and 50s at night.

I do essentially the same thing, except they still have heat at night for a bit longer.

My older ones (about 8 weeks) would be fine right now, but I still have some youngsters mixed in that don't have enough feathers.

whatever works!

If I had a choice I'd NEVER keep chicks in my house past about 2.5 weeks --- after that the dust REALLY hits! Unfortunately some went past 3 weeks this time because of the flooding last month.