Moving 3.5 week old chicks to larger coop with heat

[Jessicaerin87]

I have 3.5 week old Welsummer and Dark Brahma chicks that I currently keep in my mini barn but they are wanting more space so I was wondering if it would be okay to put them into a small coop inside the large coop with a heat plate or heat lamp. I have a large heat plate I wanted to put into the nesting area if possible or I have a 250 watt red heat lamp I can use. I the days are starting to get warmer here in Oklahoma as are the nights but there are 2 nights this week that it drops to the high 30s is my only concern. The rest of the nights are mid to high 40s and then 50s at the end of the week. Would they be alright if I give them a heat lamp or should I hold off another week or two to let them feather out more. I keep the barn quite warm so they haven't really been exposed to cold temperatures in the least. I have attached photos of my coops for a reference. Picture of chicks is from today.

Its not a problem leaving them in the barn but the days are just so nice lately I hate to leave them in there when they love to be outdoors and I constantly have been bringing them in and out. Sorry for the long post but I love my babies and don't want to hurt them.

I currently only have 1 hen so she would be the only other chicken in the coop.

 

[Tookie]

I put my chick's outside with a heat lamp and they were about the same age as your chick's, the temperature was about the same as yours too and they were fine.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Hmmm. I would wait a week or two but if your wanting them to enjoy outside, put them in a dog kennel and or just a few and let them adventure on a nice day. Or if you can give them an area of their own away from other chickens that would try to establish dominance, give them a little open area you can baby sit them in. Or a thought is to put up a little house for them and have them all go in it for 3 days or so during the day and have plenty of treats, food, and water in it and then let them out to roam and they most likely will have learned that is there house, the only thing you risk is they aren't sleeping in it so I can't really guarantee they'll stick around. But those are my wild thoughts that flew through my head in 3 minutes, good luck and enjoy your chickens

 

[Jessicaerin87]

Hmmm. I would wait a week or two but if your wanting them to enjoy outside, put them in a dog kennel and or just a few and let them adventure on a nice day. Or if you can give them an area of their own away from other chickens that would try to establish dominance, give them a little open area you can baby sit them in. Or a thought is to put up a little house for them and have them all go in it for 3 days or so during the day and have plenty of treats, food, and water in it and then let them out to roam and they most likely will have learned that is there house, the only thing you risk is they aren't sleeping in it so I can't really guarantee they'll stick around. But those are my wild thoughts that flew through my head in 3 minutes, good luck and enjoy your chickens

That was my next idea what to use my huge dog kennel and maybe just prop the door of the mini barn open so they can see outside. I put their tub outside in the dog kennel on nice days so they can be out of the wind but enjoy the sun.