how old does a chick have to be to Go Outside?

[Animal Lover]

I have hatched 1 chick and she hatched on December 25th...I also have 2 hens outside and one rooster penned in the same pen....how much longer 'till my chick can go out with them? By the way..none are brooders..thats why i tried incubating but it was first time and all died in the egg except Prim who hatched...Any ideas? Thanks

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Depends on the weather but 6 weeks to 7 weeks old if the weather isn't to cold.

 

[Animal Lover]

well, you think my others including the rooster would kill it or not?

 

[Kevin565]

 

[kbreak]

My oldest chicks are 10 weeks old and I am still afraid to put them in with the big boys and girls.

 

[OkChickens]

In the winter I have mine in brooders until about 6 weeks then they go into a separate grow out coop until about 16 weeks or close to full size. In the summer I brood them until 4 weeks old and then they go into a grow out pen. I currently have 10 Lavender Orps I hatched out 12-9-11 and I have them in a large brooder with a 100 watt bulb for heat inside my shop. When I get my 12x20 coop done they will go in there . I will section off a 4x12 space for them probably. I will hang a light bulb low for heat as it gets into the teens right now.

Nate

 

[Ole rooster]

I took this picture Tuesday. That makes these chicks 3 weeks. They've been outside since 2 weeks. That's what mama wanted. This was posted on another thread but it's relevant here also.

 

[Animal Lover]

I WOULD put my chick out there now but Danny(my rooster), I'm thinking will kill her......do ya'll think he would? do most roosters kill the young..and I dont even know that my 2 hens won't kill her...neither are brooders i dont think

 

[Soli]

It really does depend on your other chickens. I keep a grow out pen with juveniles and a couple mellow adults and I tend to put them out at 8 weeks or when fully feathered. Then I monitor them and do a supervised feeding twice a day to make sure they get opportunity to eat and drink without being bullied by other chickens. By the time they are choosing to fly up and roost with the others, they are sufficiently blended with the flock that I need only do normal feeding routines.

I have had adults (a white Cornish, for example) that were too aggressive towards chicks. It is normal for them to run at and peck chicks in dominance displays, but when they persist and chase the chick, repeatedly attacking it, then that is not a suitable bird to be in with chicks. Some roosters are good, some are bad, you really won't know until you try. At this point, I only keep one production chicken for eggs, the rest are my ornamentals and in my grow out pen they are all juveniles of varying ages. My current production chicken is a Jersey Giant and she is very good with chicks. The Cornish went to live with the flock at my mom's, as she was too aggressive to be in with chicks.

I do try to put them out when the weather is decent, around 50 degrees F at minimum. The first few days are the toughest for stress, so I want the weather to be as good as possible for that. About 2-3 weeks after you put them out is when you will see the first signs of disease, if that will be an issue. Once they survive the first month outside, you are pretty much good to go, not counting predators and such.

 

[macdoogle2]

If she was part of a group of chicks I would wait until (they) were at least six weeks old and fully feathered before putting (them) outside. Given that she is one lone chick putting her in with adults is risky. She needs to be at least as big as they are. Place her in a seperate pen or cage inside their run and let them out together when you're there to supervise. I would wait until she is older.