How young can the chicks go into the coop?

[ShannonS79]

I have some 2 week old chicks and we have to coop about finished. I have been letting them play in the run on sunny days and they seem to LOVE it. Their poop is black afterward though, I'm guessing from all the dirt they are eating?

Anyhow, They are getting pretty dusty and I was wondering when it's OK to put them outside? It still frosts every now and then, but if I put a heat lamp in the coop, would they be warm enough? I was thinking about moving them out next week. I'm also guessing that in the next week or 2 they will be too big for their brooder. Its a 35 gallon plastic bin and I have 10 chicks. We don't have any older chickens that we would be introducing the chicks to.

What do you think?

Shannon

 

[gritsar]

You can put them out at any age if you can keep the coop or a portion of the coop to the temp. needed for their age. The whole coop won't need to be heated, just the section where the chicks are corraled.
Be sure they're out of drafts and not able to get too far away from their heat lamp and they should be fine.

 

[ShannonS79]

That's what I was hoping. I'll have to set up a light and see if the temp stays up enough. We built this coop so it has a pretty open design https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=37843-the-garden-coop

I'll probably put a piece of plywood or cardboard over the top of the coop since there is a space between the hardware cloth and the roofing, to keep any drafts out and keep the heat in.

This is my first time keeping chickens, so I'm really new to it all, but also really loving it.