moving chicks out of the brooder

[mn farm gal]

Forgive me if i am posting this in the wrong spot, im still learning my way around the BYC page.

I have 20 birds that are roughly 2 weeks old in a stock tank for a brooder that is in the chicken coop i will be using for them. I would really like to let them out of the brooder and to have free reign of the coop but it gets pretty cold here at night still. 50's at night, but they are doing fine with the heat lamp. is it to soon to let them roam the coop? i will set the heat lamp up for them in the coop. but im just nervous and want them to be happy.

 

[MMacKenzie]

Forgive me if i am posting this in the wrong spot, im still learning my way around the BYC page.

I have 20 birds that are roughly 2 weeks old in a stock tank for a brooder that is in the chicken coop i will be using for them. I would really like to let them out of the brooder and to have free reign of the coop but it gets pretty cold here at night still. 50's at night, but they are doing fine with the heat lamp. is it to soon to let them roam the coop? i will set the heat lamp up for them in the coop. but im just nervous and want them to be happy.

It depends on how big they are. If possible I would still put the heat lamp in the coop so that if they are cold they have that option. You could also just take them out of the broader while it is warm and put then back in at night. It won't hurt them to stay in the tub for a little longer. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

At 2 weeks they can safely get around as long as the space isn't so large or difficult to navigate that they can't find their way around.

I've let 15 day old chicks have full access to my coop and run (525 sq ft), and they all figure out pretty quickly how to get back to food, water and warmth.

 

[saysfaa]

If it is temps you are concerned about (as opposed to integrating them into an established flock), a stock tank doesn't give much insulation. If you can set the light up so the heat is reflected some, it shouldn't be much different. They are old enough to find the heat if they need it... at least in most coops, maybe they could still get lost if it was a huge space.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I let mine run around at 2 week, I did put the heat lamp in since it got pretty cold, and they did just fine.