Move to the outside?

[Peckeruk]

Hi all
Wanting some advice on whether my chicks can move outside.
I have 5 chicks 6 weeks old. They have been spending a few days outside put coming inside on a night. The temps are about 6 to 8 degrees in the morning but raising to about 11 to 15 degrees during the day (West Yorkshire England). The birds are fully feathered and will be moving into a secure run and coop, pic below.
New to chicken keeping so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[southern chooks]

If they’re fully feathered, put em’ out. Do you have more pictures of your coop? It looks amazing!

 

[Peckeruk]

If they’re fully feathered, put em’ out. Do you have more pictures of your coop? It looks amazing!

I will put some more pics on tomorrow. Made it myself wanted to make sure it was as predator proof as possible. The chicks are pets for our two boys so losing one would be the end of the world

 

[feathermaid]

I assume you mean degrees celsius. We have very similar temps here. They should be fine outside with all their feathers. I usually brood out in the coop (starting at 1-2 weeks old) with a heat plate (MHP) so the chicks spend most of their time out in the ambient air and only "visit" heat occasionally. It makes the transition to roost so easy because they just go there when they're ready all by themselves, at about 5 weeks. Most chicks usually huddle pretty close together on the roost and their body heat should be plenty to keep warm enough during the night. The first few nights they might just stay on the ground in a pile. You can check and place them on the roost so they get used to it, they'll figure it out soon.

 

[concrete_boots]

Beautiful looking set up & great view !
Good luck with the transfer

 

[Peckeruk]

Thanks for the reply's
I will leave the chicks outside from tomorrow. I have a feeling my boys will be checking them every two minutes.
It will be nice to get the conservatory back though.

 

[concrete_boots]

What is that your using on bottom of the run, wood chips/bark ?

 

[Peckeruk]

What is that your using on bottom of the run, wood chips/bark ?

Hardwood chips on the floor of the run and wood shavings on the floor of the coop.

 

[Peckeruk]

Just been out to put the chicks in the coop for their first night. They really didn't want to go in, I tried treats still no luck. Had to put them in one by one, every time I opened the door they tried to escape.
Making a lot of noise at the moment, I can see it will be a long night of worrying. Is this normal or should they want to go in their coop?

 

[Anime2lover]

Just been out to put the chicks in the coop for their first night. They really didn't want to go in, I tried treats still no luck. Had to put them in one by one, every time I opened the door they tried to escape.
Making a lot of noise at the moment, I can see it will be a long night of worrying. Is this normal or should they want to go in their coop?

Perfectly normal.