Is 2wks too young to put them outside?

[j1koo]

My chicks are 2 wks old. I live in Spain, so the temperature of the outside living area is 87F and at night it dips to about 73F. Would they be ok outside, if I put the heat lamp in there for the night?

cheers.

 

[mattsinger]

I would think as long as they have the heat lamp to go to if they get cold....they should be fine.

 

[write2caroline]

So long as they have a place to get warm. Outside is nice. I live in Florida but as soon as they are feathered out I get them out into their coop. I don't give them run of the run because I had cats that got some of my chooks that I thought were big enough and clearly the cats found they were prey. Usually, my cats outside leave the chickens alone and didn't harm them but I guess my chooks were too tempting. They got three of them before I locked them back up into the coop to grow up more.

My chicks have always preferred less heat and I have heard that once they are older they feather out faster when it is cooler than the brood box under the heat lamps. If you use heat lamps out doors be very careful with the set up and safety.

Caroline