Moving chick out to coop

[zephyr16]

My chicks are 5 1/2" weeks old and fully feathered. Their brooder is getting too small(six of them). Temps outside in high 50's to mid 60's. Can I move them into their coop?

 

[chameleon]

Hi, and

Yes, they'll be fine. They're going to love being outside

 

[Pork Pie]

Not sure if you have been putting them outside during the day - it helps acclimatise them. When you put them in the coop, be sure to keep them in lockdown (with food and water, of course) for 3 days. This will help them get used to the coop being "Home".

 

[azygous]

As CT has stated, suddenly going from a heated environment to an unheated one isn't good. Chicks need to be hardened off prior to the move with day trips outside. If you still have the chicks under heat, you need to turn it off.

Slow acclimatizing is what you need to do to avoid temperature stress. Taken in steps over a few days time will harden your chicks gradually to cooler temps. Then they should be able to handle the move with no problems.

 

[blackdog043]

Good advice from the last 2 posts, follow that and you will be good.

 

[PirateGirl]

Our temps are now high 40s low 50s day and 25-30 at night and I just decided it's finally warm enough for my chicks out there. I put a heat lamp on at night still and will continue to do so any night it will likely be below freezing until they are close to full grown. (I picked up a 100 ft. extension cord for about $15 at Lowes that does the trick as my coop had no heat/electric and I do not plan to heat it next winter when they are full grown either)

It definitely took them a few days to get the hang of the ramp to go in and out of the pop hole. It was soooo scary for them but one or two figured it out (the bravest) and the rest were pretty quick to follow. They definitely need a little prodding and do not just put themselves to bed if it gets cold or windy or dark. Some supervised outside time will help the transition. Mine definitely love their time in their new coop and yard much better than my bathtub!

 

[zephyr16]

They have going out in an dog Xpen during the day and have been off the heat lamp for 3 days.

 

[zephyr16]

This is my chicken coop. It is 55x96x72. Larger than most kit type coops. It has a tray that pulls out for cleaning and 4 nest boxes(blocked off for now till they are older). The run has sand and we will be making a sort of tractor/run in the future that can be moved around. We have 2 acres with lots of grass, worms, etc... What I want to know is, do I put food and water inside the coop area? There is not much room for it, but if they are locked in for the night won't they need food and water while they are still this young(5 1/2 to 6 weeks).

 

[L2fly]

Hi @zephyr16

I have a similar coop that had three nesting boxes, but since I only have 3 birds and I read on this board you really only need 1 box per 4-6 birds, I removed two of the next boxes, and that gave me a little extra room to add food & water. I've recently trained them to use a horizontal nipple bucket waterer that is outside, and when they get bigger I'm going to move the food outside, but because it gets super hot where I live I'll still keep a waterer in the coop for hot summer months.

Maybe you could go down to 2 nest boxes, and use the other two for a food/water area, and a little extra floor space?

 

[zephyr16]

I have just heard that you should not have food and water in the coop. Since it is up high and will be closed at night I don't think rodent will be a problem. I can mount water and food on the wall temporarily till they are grown. They are currently using a nipple waterer mounted on the side of the brooder. I can make a feeder that mounts on the side as well.