I put the girls outside!

[JanetRN1]

It’s 80 degrees here in the day, 60’s at night. The girls have feathers, but are not all feathered in. I hated having them in a bedroom and thought they’d enjoy some sun and fresh air. So I moved their brooder outside today.
They’re in a fenced in backyard under a porch. They still have their heat plate for nighttime. And the brooder has a cover.
But now I feel guilty. And nervous! I know they’re chickens, but I feel like I’m leaving my toddlers on the porch
Pictures attached. They’re getting big!
They’ll be ok. Right??

 

[sourland]

They'll be fine as long as their pen is predator proof.

 

[BDutch]

How old are the chicks? They look fine but might need a heat plate during the day too if its getting chilly. You know they do need extra warmth if the chicks start peeping.

 

[JanetRN1]

They’re

 

[JanetRN1]

They’re 2 weeks. And they have a heat source all the time. They were spending very little time under it, though. Just at night when I turned the light off.

 

[JanetRN1]

They'll be fine as long as their pen is predator proof.

Yes. Nothing gets into the backyard. And they’re covered with mesh AND a roof.
I just checked on them and they’re all huddled under the plate (it’s dark).
They seem ok. I’ll probably be up to check on them at 3am, too. lol!!
Plus they’re right outside my window

 

[BDutch]

Two weeks old chicks need to be able to warmup 24/7.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder is in the coop. I've had chicks in there in pretty high heat and when the outside temperature is below freezing. That's straight out of the incubator or from the post office. As long as they have a place to go warm up when it gets cold and a place to cool off when it gets hot they will be fine. With your heat plate you should have that covered. If they feel cold they will go into the heat. If they are not cold they won't spend much time under there.

Some people are surprised at how much time chicks can spend in colder areas. They can handle that much better than expected as long as they have a place to warm up when they need to. Don't be surprised if they are sleeping on top of that heat plate instead of under it soon.

 

[JanetRN1]

They made it! And I think they enjoyed it! They all got under the heat plate when it got dark outside (hoping that means they’ll get into the coop the same way) and they were all out chirping at 6am.
I have a camera on them and they’ve been doing their thing all day.
Work really gets in the way of stuff I’d rather do! Like hang out with the chicks!

 

[JanetRN1]

How old are the chicks? They look fine but might need a heat plate during the day too if it’s getting chilly. You know they do need extra warmth if the chicks start peeping.

I just caught this! So they were all under it last night when it got dark (and chilly. It was around 60 last night). And they were quiet.
But when I checked on them this morning before I left, they were out eating and drinking and walking around. But they were chirping!
They do have access to heat at all times. And it’s 80 here today.
Should I move them back inside?