how long do chicks stay in a brooder?

[MuskokaChick]

Just wondering because I have new ready to lays coming on Wednesday and once they climatize they will move in with the other chickens and wondering when I can move the chick (s)?

no rush of course because we love having them in the house

 

[Easter eggers]

chicks will need to be in the brooder for 5 weeks lowering the temp by 5 every week starting at 95 degrees

 

[MuskokaChick]

ok cool

she is sitting in 95 right now

so at 6 weeks she moves into the coop?

Thanks

 

[Fred's Hens]

Be a little careful with the heat this time of year. With air temps so high, it is easy to over cook the chicks. I'd much rather be 5 degree cool and be safe. Just watch the chicks. They will tell you if there is too much heat. They'll avoid the lamp. They'll pant, have their wings out, etc. Be sure there are much cooler areas of the brooder for them to escape to. Enjoy your chicken adventure.

 

[MuskokaChick]

great thanks...yes I have her food and water at one end (out of the lamp) the lamp in the middle with a stuffy and another little stuffy on the other end with a mirror. She is all over the place and seems happy (comfortable), but will keep an eye on those behaviours.

 

[ajay]

Lamp turned off at 4 weeks because of the weather and went out at 5 weeks. Some move them much earlier and some much later. When mine started knocking over their food multiple times a day and creating a layer of dust that I could literally trace my name in daily, it was time for them to go.

 

[budda]

Out in the coop at 3 weeks. Turned off the lamp the night they went out. Cold turkey and not a peep from them. No problems.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm a bit confused. It sounds like you have eggs under a broody in your house that you expect to hatch in a few days. Is this right?

Chicks with a broody can go outside as soon as she brings them off the nest to eat and drink. I usually give them a day or two in isolation so they can learn to eat and drink on their own without interference from the other adults, but many people do not do that. I'm just over-protective. Mama has a built-in heater and the power never goes out. I see you are in Ontario, so your nights are certainly going to be cooler than mine, but if you have a broody, it does not matter.

If they are in a brooder without a broody hen, they should be fully feathered at 4 to 5 weeks old. They can go outside without any supplemental heat when they are fullky feathered.

 

[slugetta]

I ordered 20 glw from a hatchery, presuming that they would be full-stock birds. a few of them have single combs, does this mean that they are not full-stock? most of them have the rose comb.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

It's always best to start your own thread to ask a new question. To add your question to another members thread is considered hi-jacking and frowned upon.

If you don't know how to start a new thread - it can get confusing - here's a tutorial that should help:

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWXAmgx4qOPEZDV0NDNqNl8xMGRnOXpmc2Ri&hl=en

To answer your question about the combs, hatchery quality birds may indeed vary from the standard somewhat; like having single combs when they should have rose combs.