How to acclimate growing quail to outdoor conditions?

[brewer12345]

I have 21 chicks that are now 2 weeks old. They are in the process of fledging out (although one or two stragglers are still fluffy), and I have started the process of gradually moving the heat lamp a little further away every few days. Ultimately these guys are going to an outdoor coop, ideally by the time they are 6 (too early, too late?) weeks old. We live in Colorado where spring temps are highly unpredictable, so I don't want them to freeze to death or have a hard time adjusting. Any suggestions on the acclimation process? How old should I expect them to be when they are fledged enough to deal with temps in, say, the 20sor 30s? The outdoor coop has a sheltered area closed in with plywood for everything but the floor (wire) and in cold weather I plan to put a layer of straw on the floor (possibly under a piece of cardboard). Any and all suggestions welcome, as I am a poultry/quail newbie.

 

[5Sons Coop]

I am in Wisconsin and kept a light on until mine were fully feathered last late summer early fall. They spent all winter with no heat source and in an uninsulated coop/run. I did watch them close and made sure they always had a heat soul when I was not able to watch them until fully feathered. A cordless indoor outdoor thermometer was worth its weight in gold. Once I got them down to 70 they still seemed cold. So I let them get 80 to warm up for awhile then down to 60 for an hour then back to 75 then the light went of until they got to 50 then back on to 70 etc. It worked for me with no issues. For how fragile the are they handle the cold better than I expected and in the end I think I may have fussed over the entire cold issue a little to much.

 

[KeithKZ]

I live in Michigan. Here is a great guideline for what your temp should be for your chicks. 6 weeks will be old enough to place outside, especially if they're coturnix however you didn't specify.