Moving chicks outside during winter

[CaswellCoop]

I've searched through the threads but nothing has really answered my question directly.
I'm wondering how to go about moving my chicks outside during winter?
Obviously they will be fully feathered first. Currently they are 4/5 weeks old, mostly feathered. There are 15 of them and they live in a huge gaylord box in our laundry room. It's a bit colder in there than the rest of the house, maybe like 10 degrees difference.
I've been turning the heat off during the day the past couple days and turning it back on at night, they seem fine with that. No loud chirping, no huddling for naps or puffing up. They roam around just the same.
They will be running out of room in there pretty soon and I'm not sure what to do with them at that point.
Our garage is more of an attached carport with no door so its pretty drafty in there so that's not really an option.
When will it be ok to put them in the coop? Since there are 15 of them would they be able to keep warm enough? Thoughts about putting a cozy coop heater in there for overnight at first? Its supposedly safe and no risk of fire or anything.

I'd like to hear from those with experience not opinions, thanks!

 

[ChickenLeg]

Anytime Ive brought chicks out in winter they seem to pile up on top of each other huddling and some end up getting crushed to death, so I stopped doing fall hatches and any hatches before April. I have no experience with the coop heater but I have used heat lamps for years in brooders but never in coops. The last time I had a early hatch I waited til chicks were 8 weeks old before I completely cut off lights in the brooder and some were still trampled. Just passing on my experiences. Best of luck

 

[CaswellCoop]

Anytime Ive brought chicks out in winter they seem to pile up on top of each other huddling and some end up getting crushed to death, so I stopped doing fall hatches and any hatches before April. I have no experience with the coop heater but I have used heat lamps for years in brooders but never in coops. The last time I had a early hatch I waited til chicks were 8 weeks old before I completely cut off lights in the brooder and some were still trampled. Just passing on my experiences. Best of luck

Thank you!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Where, in general, are you located?

What are your expected temperatures for the outside?

Do you have the ability to get electric to the coop?

Could you show us photos of your coop and run?

 

[CaswellCoop]

Welcome to BYC.

Where, in general, are you located?

What are your expected temperatures for the outside?

Do you have the ability to get electric to the coop?

Could you show us photos of your coop and run?

Hi, thanks!
I'm located in east Texas.
Our winter temps *can* get down into the teens at night but *usually* stay a bit higher than that. Honestly the weather here is unpredictable. Sometimes we get snow in april and we just had an 80° December so
We can run an extension cord to the coop but there isnt established electricity out there.
Our coop is a rather large repurposed shed 12ftX14ft and about 10ft high at the peak its draft free with ventilation at the top but doesn't let in much light unless we uncover the door or add windows. The run is an attached chain link dog kennel that's covered and is reinforced with hardware cloth. There is a human entrance door to the run as well as a chicken door from the run to the coop. Also a human door to the coop. The past week we had some very warm days where the chicks spent most of the day in the run. Now its below freezing.

 

[3KillerBs]

Hi, thanks!
I'm located in east Texas.
Our winter temps *can* get down into the teens at night but *usually* stay a bit higher than that. Honestly the weather here is unpredictable. Sometimes we get snow in april and we just had an 80° December so
We can run an extension cord to the coop but there isnt established electricity out there.
Our coop is a rather large repurposed shed 12ftX14ft and about 10ft high at the peak its draft free with ventilation at the top but doesn't let in much light unless we uncover the door or add windows. The run is an attached chain link dog kennel that's covered and is reinforced with hardware cloth. There is a human entrance door to the run as well as a chicken door from the run to the coop. Also a human door to the coop. The past week we had some very warm days where the chicks spent most of the day in the run. Now its below freezing.

That sounds very promising for moving the chicks out with a heat lamp to give them a cozy spot.

With photos we could make more specific suggestions.

Also, if you put your location into your profile it's helpful for getting targeted advice from people who understand your conditions.

In re: light in the coop, you might consider removing all the siding on the downwind wall to turn it into an open air setup. My Open Air coop was inspired by a coop in Texas. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

 

[CaswellCoop]

That sounds very promising for moving the chicks out with a heat lamp to give them a cozy spot.

With photos we could make more specific suggestions.

Also, if you put your location into your profile it's helpful for getting targeted advice from people who understand your conditions.

In re: light in the coop, you might consider removing all the siding on the downwind wall to turn it into an open air setup. My Open Air coop was inspired by a coop in Texas. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

 

[CaswellCoop]

 

[CaswellCoop]

@3KillerBs

 

[Nashv755]

I put 32 out a couple weeks ago in a glass brooder at 4 weeks mostly feathered. It has a heatplate for them to get under but most just roost on top of it or a 2x4 now. I open one of the windows in the morning so they can come and go as they please. They don't go back in until bedtime that I've seen despite highs in the 40's and 50's with low's in upper 20's. All good so far