How old is old enough?

[K0k0shka]

family vacation at your house!

i suppose I would wait for the chicks to be a month or two old before I left them alone... or could you set the eggs after you all get back? You could choose which eggs to set together, and do family bonding over candling eggs. I think it would be cool for your kids to be able to watch the eggs develop thru incubation, and watch the chicks feathering out into pullets. The whole family could act as broody mommas!

Oh yeah, we definitely all want to participate in all the active steps of incubating, hatching, brooding etc. It will be a lot of fun. I'm leaning towards having them be 2 months old when we go. If we set the eggs after we get back, it will be August, and I'm afraid they won't have enough time to grow and fatten up for winter... I don't know how that will play together with the molt, too... Would they skip the first molt if they JUST finished feathering out by the time fall comes around? Or would they molt in the middle of winter and freeze their butts? Either way, they'll only be 2-3 months old when freezing temperatures hit, and I'm not crazy about that. I want to give them a happy childhood/youth of running around on grass digging for bugs before everything dies and gets nasty

 

[Cazook]

if you leave at 3 months rather than 4 months you at least should avoid the problems of possible egg collection and like others said, the cockerels getting rough with the hens. best to be around when they 'come of age' imo.

my chickens were outside fulltime by 8 weeks at the beginning of winter, no heat. no problems except water freezing at night. make sure you acclimate them slowly though (take out in daytime from brooder for a week, then bring inside at night is what i did)

 

[DobieLover]

Oh yeah, we definitely all want to participate in all the active steps of incubating, hatching, brooding etc. It will be a lot of fun. I'm leaning towards having them be 2 months old when we go. If we set the eggs after we get back, it will be August, and I'm afraid they won't have enough time to grow and fatten up for winter... I don't know how that will play together with the molt, too... Would they skip the first molt if they JUST finished feathering out by the time fall comes around? Or would they molt in the middle of winter and freeze their butts? Either way, they'll only be 2-3 months old when freezing temperatures hit, and I'm not crazy about that. I want to give them a happy childhood/youth of running around on grass digging for bugs before everything dies and gets nasty

I raised 15 one-day old chicks in my built in brooder in my coop using a brooder plate with a towel thrown over it. The chicks were buzzing around at 15 days old on a 23F morning. No issues.
An 8 to 10 week old will be fully feathered well before very cold weather hits. They'd be perfectly fine. They do not do a full molt until their second year.
If you delay the set until after your vacation, you'll be around for everything. I also strongly recommend that you have a plan for the boys before you start.

 

[K0k0shka]

I raised 15 one-day old chicks in my built in brooder in my coop using a brooder plate with a towel thrown over it. The chicks were buzzing around at 15 days old on a 23F morning. No issues.
An 8 to 10 week old will be fully feathered well before very cold weather hits. They'd be perfectly fine. They do not do a full molt until their second year.
If you delay the set until after your vacation, you'll be around for everything. I also strongly recommend that you have a plan for the boys before you start.

Hmm... Good point about not missing anything. Okay, I'll consider that alternative, too. If they hatch in August, they'll get 90 degrees for free outside even without additional heat

The boys will be eaten, sadly. I'll see if there's somebody local I can pay for the actual deed, then I'll pluck/gut/clean etc. myself (I did that growing up and really miss it, it was fun! Plus it will teach the kids anatomy). If I can't find anybody, then I guess I'll have to do it myself. Nobody wants roosters around here so I doubt I'll find homes for all of them. Plus... I really miss the taste of real homegrown chicken!