How soon is "too soon" to head outside?

[AnconaMommy]

Our Silkie hatched three chicks on November 20th. Sadly, we had a daredevil who got a bit too brave and ended up drowning in the big girl's watering bowl. After that, I brought the remaining two inside with my Silkie. They've been living in a pack n play, in the living room, which has been great...until they learned to "fly the coop"! So my question is, I know we have some reintegrating to do. My big girls are actually quite mean to the Silkie now. Was never a problem before, so this has gotten interesting! The baby chicks are one pure Silkie and one Silkie mix. Debated moving the pack n play to the garage for a few weeks to start getting them used to the cold (Colorado has had a huge cold snap...getting in the negatives almost every night with high humidity as well. 75+%!!!) Thinking a heat lamp well above the pack n play with a mesh topper to keep their "exploring" to a minimum as the garage is far from chick proof. Think Mama Silkie is ready to leave the chicks and get back out with her flock now??? How soon until the chicks will be fully feathered and ready to join the group...safely, where they can defend themselves if need be?

 

[theoldchick]

Yep, the garage is the place to go if you don't want to keep them in the house. When using a heat lamp always be very aware of the fire risk. I've housed my older young one is a gogo pen with a chicken wire cover with a heat lamp located outside the pen. I provided a thermal gradient which allowed the chicks to escape to a cooler area when needed. I also put a tarp on the floor to protect it from fecal stains. And I used a lot of shredded newspaper which I replaced every day. You can provide roosts and block to give the chicks a place to roost.

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