How old do my chicks have to be in order to go outside?

[Tall-esRaisin]

I have four silkie chicks, two of them are 4 weeks old and the others we believe are younger, so about 3 weeks. I was wondering if I could bring the older ones outside instead keeping them inside their brooder. They have almost all (around 97%) of their adult feathers and lately they've been trying to fly out of their tub/brooder. The chicks are still smaller than my 3 adult bantams, but not by much. I have taken them out in the yard and they absolutely loved it! Also, it has been in the 60s lately with clear skies, so plenty warm. Thank you for your input, this is my first time ever with chicks, so I don't know much.

P.S.- I was wondering, what if I bring them out to the coop during the day, but bring them in at night, that might be a better idea. I am going to keep the younger ones inside though because they only have adult feathers on their wings!! Such slowpokes!

 

[lightchick]

You can take ALL of your chicks outside during the day.......my chicks are 8 days old and are going outside whenever it's warm enough. I have one silkie. You can keep the older ones outside all the time if it's at least 55 degrees outside.

 

[fisherlady]

I agree with lightchick... most chicks can easily spend a lot of their time outside by 3 or 4 weeks... but you have to make some accommodations for them. Give them an area in their daytime area that is protected from wind, make sure the area is dry also, be very aware of weather and be ready to bring them in to more controlled temps if there is a sudden drop in temps.

Start with short trips outside, lengthen the trips over a few days and watch their behavior when they are out. If the spend all of their time huddling in the protected area then they are still too cold.... if they spread out and start to explore their new digs then they are fine. Going to the sheltered area once in a while to take a break is to be expected.

Make sure they also have shade available, and that their feed and water close by...

If you are wanting to move them outside for longer periods you can give them the best of both worlds by providing them a large box within the run, you can place a heat lamp (even a low watt one) in the back of the box so they are able to warm up, but leave one end of the box open to encourage them to run in and out...

Chicks are incredibly resilient when given time to adjust, our broodies take their chicks out and about to range from about day 3 on... I have pics of 2 week olds out in the snow! They just run under momma hen once in a while for a 5 minute warm up and then are out on the go again...