Is 2 weeks too young to put my chicks and ducks outside in the coop?

dickens

Hatching
Aug 16, 2015
5
0
9
So my little ladies and 2 guys are 2 weeks old, I have 20 chicks and 5 ducks and although I had them in a large bin they already ran out of space and the smell was getting unbearable. We built them a large coop three walls are made of concrete and the front gate is the fencing you'd use for a grape vine. They absolutely love their coop so far. The chicks are getting feathered very quickly while the ducks are taking a bit longer. The temperatures at night reach up to 60 with the day temperature in the high 80s. I wanted to know if I could let them start living full time in the coop and let them free range once they get older. I love my little ones but the brooder I had was apparently too small for them, and I would put a heat lamp outside but there is no connection. I couldn't find any solar powered heat lamps anywhere. ( I'm not even sure if they exist.) also when I left them out until about 9 last night they seemed fine in the coop nestled in all the hay. What do you guys think? It's my first time raising chicks and ducks so there's no older gals just the little ones. Also does anyone have advice on how to keep the waterer full when ducks are present? They get a little over excited hah
 
I'd say yes, but it depends on how warm or cold, rainy or windy, it is. I put mine in the coop at about 1month and 2 weeks. But it was cold. It really just depends on the weather conditions.
 
I agree with Junebuggena. Could you coop them in a garage or basement where you could set up a heat lamp ? You could also divide them into 2 or 3 brooders, if they are so c rowded.
 
UPDATE: well after a night of getting up every 2 hours to check on my little dickens turns out they were perfectly fine! They slept the whole night and woke up very loud and very hungry today. Thank you everyone for your help!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom