I'm on a crusade to get chicks imprisoned in brooders for weeks on end outdoors for some real play and FLYING!
So many people with baby chicks are so deathly afraid they might be upsetting the health and well being of their chicks if they don't keep them baking under a heat lamp for two entire months, never once letting them out for some exercise.
If you live in a mild climate where the days get into the 70s F or above 22 C, chicks as young as one or two weeks can go outdoors for a brief romp, depending on how long before they begin to get chilled. It's a marvel and a royal kick in the pants to see these little tykes take full advantage of their freedom. It doesn't take many trips outside before they engage in fits and bouts of low-level flight, accompanied by ear-splitting screeches of wonder and glee. The chicks will also be screeching while they are shooting across the ground in flight!
What I do is tote them outside in a pet carrier. I leave the carrier in a sunny spot with no wind, and let them discover freedom. It may take awhile for one, then another to venture out into the world. After a while, all you need to do is open the door of the crate, and they're out like a flash.
Leave the carrier handy, and they will return to it as they begin to get chilled. That's your signal they need to go back inside and popped back into their brooder under the heat lamp.
Do this every day you have a mild, sunny day and you'll have happy, healthy, contented chicks.
So many people with baby chicks are so deathly afraid they might be upsetting the health and well being of their chicks if they don't keep them baking under a heat lamp for two entire months, never once letting them out for some exercise.
If you live in a mild climate where the days get into the 70s F or above 22 C, chicks as young as one or two weeks can go outdoors for a brief romp, depending on how long before they begin to get chilled. It's a marvel and a royal kick in the pants to see these little tykes take full advantage of their freedom. It doesn't take many trips outside before they engage in fits and bouts of low-level flight, accompanied by ear-splitting screeches of wonder and glee. The chicks will also be screeching while they are shooting across the ground in flight!
What I do is tote them outside in a pet carrier. I leave the carrier in a sunny spot with no wind, and let them discover freedom. It may take awhile for one, then another to venture out into the world. After a while, all you need to do is open the door of the crate, and they're out like a flash.
Leave the carrier handy, and they will return to it as they begin to get chilled. That's your signal they need to go back inside and popped back into their brooder under the heat lamp.
Do this every day you have a mild, sunny day and you'll have happy, healthy, contented chicks.
