I have a couple more questions

[jimz1]

I'm sure these have bee answered but I can't find the posts; when can I move my "kids" out into the coop? I hope I'll be finished with it in about 2 weeks.
I have a heatlamp. If I let them into the coop, do I need to partition a spot off for them or can they have the run of it? It is 10feet x 12 feet.
1 more if you don't mind; When do I quit giving them water with electrolytes? Thanks

 

[Judy]

From one of your other posts, it sounds like your chicks are about a week old. I wouldn't hesitate to move them out when the coop is ready, but they will be a little young to tolerate your nighttime temps without heat. Whether to partition will depend on how warm it is under the heat lamp -- I'd want to check them during the night for a night or two. If it were me I'd probably put a couple of bales of hay in there to make a warm corner for them, but with an opening so they can get to the rest of the coop. You'll sure have to be careful about double or even triple hanging the heat lamp, though, and might need to provide two in case one burns out during the night.

I would definitely stop the electrolytes now. They can be overdone.

 

[LarryPQ]

We need more info. How old are your chicks? How old are the chickens in the coop itself?

You want to integrate the chickens when they are the same size. If there is only one batch of chickens, then you want to remove the heatlamp when they are fully feathered--which depends on your location.

I never put mine out to the transition cage until they start roosting. Otherwise they sleep on the ground and make themselves susceptible to mites and surprise rainstorms.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how old yours will be in two weeks. I give mine the run of my 8' x 12' coop when I take them out of the brooder and take away all supplemental heat, around 4-1/2 to 5 weeks old. Mine are fully feathered by that age. Until they are fully feathered, I keep them in the brooder.

I never give mine electrolytes, so I can't help you a lot on that one. I put a little sugar in the first water they get if they are shipped chicks to give them a bit more energy when recovering from shipping stress, but that is just the first time I give them water. After that and for any that I hatch in my incubator, they just get straight water. If you have a medical reason to give them electrolytes, I guess it depends on what that reason is. If you are just giving them electrolytes because someone said it was a neat thing to do, you can stop at any time.

Good luck!

 

[jimz1]

The chicks will be 1 week old tomorrow. These are the only chicks we have. 15 of 'em.
Btw, is all chick starter medicated? I got mine from local feed mill and it came in a 50# bag and I didn't even use 1/4 of it. If I have to get something else, how long will this keep?
I know the best way to get rid of it is to get more chicks, but at the rate they're eating it i would probably have to get about 25 to 30 more and my coop won't be big enough for that many chickens plus 1

 

[Judy]

No, all chick starter isn't medicated, although in my area it seems to be. Why would you stop feeding medicated? It won't hurt a thing til they are outside and that is when they will most benefit from it. I'm talking about feed medicated with amprolium, though, which is a thiamine inhibitor that inhibits thiamine uptake in the cocci, not the chick. I have read that some feed is medicated with an antibiotic. If I discovered I'd been feeding that, I would toss it, and I wouldn't knowingly buy it.

Feed does not store particularly well. Of course it depends on how and where you store it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The older they get, the more they will eat. Whether it is medicated or not, I'd feed it until it was gone. With 15 chicks, it will not last another 3 weeks.

 

[Nicole01]

We are not putting the girls in the coop until they have all their feathers. Although, I do not have 15, I only have 4. I would wait a week or two and put the heat lamp on them if you move the babies out early.

 

[Fred's Hens]

You could have put them in the coop from day 1. The issue is simply proper warmth for their age. If that can be achieved in the coop, you're golden. I would keep the little ones contained in a defined space for another week. Once they are 3 weeks old, there is no need to worry about having too much space. Continuing water supplements is entirely up to you, but it sounds like they are doing fine and no longer require it.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

I put mine outside in the coop when the temps were in the 60's outside and they had all their feathers. Then I used my cat carrier to load them up and bring them back into the house at night to their dog crate. 40 at night seemed too cold for them to be outside!! Being caught every day made for some pretty friendly chickens!

I didn't give them electrolytes...they were all eating/drinking with a few minutes after coming in the mail so I didn't worry about it.

Don't worry, your peeps will eat that bag of food...and probably one more! The bigger they get, the more they eat!