Move to the coop

[millerchix]

How big or what age is good for moving the chicks to our coop?

 

[Josh R]

Same question I have. Maryland is in the middle of a cold snap but my girls are 6weeks and feathered out. Can I trust a heat lamp?

 

[snow5164]

I never trust a heat lamp , but that's another topic

.

Move them out when they're running around like crazy and seem bored and crowded . It's up to you, I keep mine near til I can sleep at night knowing they're 50 feet away ..

Feathered out completely should keep them warm, but I keep the heat source ( heating pad), in my coop for a few weeks to see if it's getting used , the poop will tell you where they sleep

 

[Josh R]

I believe they are feathered enough.... just not positive

 

[snow5164]

Your red one , Rhode Island Red I think has fuzz on the neck ? That will be feathers soon. Mine are 10 weeks and almost feathered out.

Should be fine , especially if you give them heat. Do they roost? Hang the light at one end of the roosting bar.( roosting/ roasting??)
This is my 10 week old trouble maker, probably a rooster

 

[Ridgerunner]

When to move to the coop? It depends. How have they been raised? Have you fed them a Chick Starter, say 18% to 20% protein feed? If so, they should easily be fully feathered at 5 weeks.

Have you exposed them to any cold weather? If they have been exposed to cooler weather they are better acclimated.

What does the facility you would move them into look like? Does it have good ventilation yet good breeze protection?

How cold is your outside temperature, your lows, not your highs?

I put my chicks in an unheated grow-out coop somewhere around five weeks, with overnight lows sometimes in the 20’s Fahrenheit. I feed a 20% Chick Starter and brood them in a brooder in the coop where I keep one end warm and let the other cool off as it will so they are acclimated. My grow-out coop has good breeze protection and outstanding ventilation up high.

I don’t know when yours are ready to go out, I don’t know how you raised them or what your facility looks like. But I can relate my experiences.

 

[millerchix]

This is about the stage all my girls are at. But we have 3 old girls in the coop so I am also concerned about size.