How soon can these little guys go outside for some play time?

[cluckcluck42]

I kept my first batch next to the kitchen in the house and by week 3 I was about to die from chick dust. We moved them to the porch and the smell was so nasty we made an outdoor brooder. It smelled like a gross poopy fishy smell, it was just so terrible. I would say at three weeks you are good to let them go out and by then the weather should be nicer too

 

[Montana-Hens]

Mine are two weeks and am counting the weeks until they go outside....but woke up to 2-3 inches of snow this am

 

[springchick91]

what i dont get is i have just bought 8 chicks around almost a week ago and i cant tell that there chicks in the house. it not much duster then normal or smell werid. i have 16 chickens now 8 chicks plus 8 adults

 

[Hillsvale]

if its just the chicks in the house that's why... they are still sweet smelling, utterly adorable babies...

in two weeks they will be expelling half their body weight out their butts a couple dozen time a day you'll be singing a different tune

... I predict you will be back checking this thread for when you can toss the stinkers into the coop!

 

[poultrypatch]

CHICKS ???? CHICKS ???? SMELL, MESSY ??? Have you tried ducklings ??? LOL I have 5 banties, BEI. They out grew 2 cages already and MESSSSSYYYY !! Yesterday I moved them to my laundry room where I have a full size bath tub where I wash my dogs. I lined it with about 30 pounds of newspapers added them and food and water. POOL PARTY !!! These kids just turned 3 wks yesterday. Needless to say I had to go clean them up again because it was all drenced ! Best part was when I chopped up hard boiled eggs for them as a snack. Put it on a paper plate on top of news paper. They gobbled it down like demented pigs....THEN one took a poop...MASSIVE. It came out in a 6" stream covering the plate from one side to the other ! Thought my husband would be on the floor . Fixed him ! He thought the little piggies were soooo cute gobbling down their eggs.....then came that poop ! He staggered off. Heh heh heh
My chickies....same age, are nothing compared to those duckies. All sooooo cute !!
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[Hillsvale]

Quote:
charming!

I tried to explain this to my Simon last night... he didn't buy it. I would normally be tempted to prove these things to him but in this instance, I think ducklings will wait until their sloppy butts can be outdoors from the get go!

 

[Alabama ee]

Quote:
Mine seem to be doing that at 3 weeks and 1 day

. I just cleaned it out today, and there was moisture at the bottom of the box.

HOw it got below two inches of shavings, and then newspaper I have no idea. Boy, did it smell. I took our a lot more than I put in that box. I think we may just be putting them outside this weekend. They are like poop machines. I think my garden might like it, but I can't stand it much longer. We are in North Alabama, so the temps are about 50-60 during the day this time of the year. They have enough wing feathers now that they can fly to the top of the box and it is about 3 feet high. I think they might like it. They love to perch on us and look out the window.

 

[imthedude]

our birds are 9 days old. already they stink up the house. they're housed in our basement in a rabbit cage. i came in last night and could smell the faint aroma of chickens. it's fun having them inside and so close, but i'll be glad when they can go out, and that's not for a while.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Quote:
Mine have all been outside since they were 2weeks old, now they are 4 and 3 weeks . . .

They love it, and so do my nose and I . . .

 

[Shelly_WNC]

I'm glad you ask this question - because I was wondering the same thing.

I am sooooo anxious to let my eleven chicks investigate the outdoors, even for just 30 minutes. Then are 3 weeks now and are use to the 80 degree brooder and heat lamp. But they are scratching the bottom of their tank like crazy these last two days, so it seems to me their 'natural chicken' instincts are really coming out. I have one layer of newspaper and on top of that one or two layers of paper towel and then pine shavings on top of that. I clean it every single day (so no horrible smell yet). But they are really scratching and today they are tearing up the paper towel into pieces. So I really think they need to go outside and scratch (for a little while each day).

However, It is about 50-60 degrees and cloudy but the ground feels even colder. So I'll keep an eye out for stress and put something down on the ground in case their feet get cold , I could see if they seem to huddle for warmer surfaces.

I am hoping by 5 weeks they can go into the coop - does that sound reasonable to every one?