How do I transition chicks from brooder to outdoor coop???

[thebestcasey]

Im completely unsure of how to transition my 4 1/2week old chicks from the indoor brooder to an outside coop. Any advice for a first timer?? Do i put the chick heating pad inside the outdoor coop? Or let them get used to the climate temperature outside?

 

[Henriettamom919]

We started by having them go out during the day for a few days while still bringing them in at night. Assuming it's not terribly cold where you are they don't need heat at night anymore.

After a few days you just place them in the coop at sunset and lock them up! Provided you have a clean, dry, well ventilated coop they'll know what to do and be just fine!

 

[Stacyoung13]

It depends on your outside temperature. You can put your MHP out in the coop for them...they will decide if they need supplement heat or not. When I put my babies from the indoor brooder to the outside brooder, I put the MHP in there for them. When they move From there to the coop, I have a fake MHP (no heating pad, just cave), in there for them to hide under. Good Luck

 

[tpatricco]

Im completely unsure of how to transition my 4 1/2week old chicks from the indoor brooder to an outside coop. Any advice for a first timer?? Do i put the chick heating pad inside the outdoor coop? Or let them get used to the climate temperature outside?

First time flockers here too. We put ours out in the coop over Memorial Day weekend. We started out just bringing them for a field trip into the run for the day - but decided we were "over" having our foyer consumed by the brooder setup and cleaning in and around it. Decided to have them stay in the coop. Overnight temps were in the high 50's and 6 chicks ranged from mostly around 6 weeks with one younger at 4 weeks. We initially put their whole brooder (2 connected dog crates) in the coop with the crate doors removed and the heat plate plugged in for them at night. Daytime temperatures were always mid 60's and mostly in the 70's. They did great. We disabled our auto-door on the coop initially. Helped them back into the run at twilight each night and did put their food and water in the coop overnight for the first week. After 1 week we removed one of the two dog crates from the coop. 5 out of 6 chicks were finding their own way in at night. I did "light training" - turned on the light in the coop before dark and then off about 15 minutes after they were all inside for two nights - chick #6 learned to "go to the light" apparently. On the third night I didn't turn on the light and all 6 went in on their own. Now have the autodoor programmed to open at 6am and close at 8:30pm and all is well. The chicks who had been piling together in the crate to sleep have just this week on their own taken to roosting! So I expect I'll remove the last crate from the brooder this weekend (they are also fully off heat now) and basically they're all set! It went really well for us.

Rosie & Jacquellen practicing their roosting

• tpatricco
• Jun 12, 2019
• 1

 

[chickens really]

I would just take them out and provide a bit of straw along with shavings inside the Coop. They will huddle up at night still to sleep. Lock them in as the sun is going down.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What's the temperature difference between where you have them inside, and the inside of the coop? If it's not close you should start dropping the temperature (lower temperature in room, raise heat lamp/lower heat pad setting, and/or turn off heat source during the day) until you get it close to what you have outdoors. If it's already pretty close I'd just take them and lock them in the coop a few days to help them acclimate to it, then after that you can start letting them out.

 

[JDS98922]

So my chicks are about 7.5 weeks and they appear to be fully feathered. I took the MHP out of the brooder 3 weeks ago. I have had the windows open to the outside day and night to help acclimate them to the rise and fall of the temperatures. The plan is to get them outside this weekend. We are having highs in the high 70's to mid 80's during the day and mid/high 50's to low 60's at night. The wind is blowing hard lately so it will be a good way to determine draftiness.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The plan is to get them outside this weekend. We are having highs in the high 70's to mid 80's during the day and mid/high 50's to low 60's at night. The wind is blowing hard lately so it will be a good way to determine draftiness.

Sounds good. The temps are quite moderate so they shouldn't have any issue.

As far as drafts, easiest way to check for them is to go inside the coop (assuming you can walk in) during a wind storm and hold something lightweight like a ribbon or streamer in the areas your chickens would be in, to check how the air moves. A little fluttering is fine and normal.

 

[JDS98922]

Sounds good. The temps are quite moderate so they shouldn't have any issue.

As far as drafts, easiest way to check for them is to go inside the coop (assuming you can walk in) during a wind storm and hold something lightweight like a ribbon or streamer in the areas your chickens would be in, to check how the air moves. A little fluttering is fine and normal.

I was in it yesterday during a pretty good wind storm. One wall is missing because I'm still working on it and the plastic on the floor was just barely fluttering