Apparently summer decided to skip us. We're in west coast BC. Anyone else? It SUCKS. Rain, clouds, cool weather. Except I've got these 6 4.5-week-old chicks who are way too big for the dog crate they're currently hanging out in. When can I put them outside? What can I do for them? I've got a place I can put them, sort of, but I can't safely run a light out there for heat. I'm assuming sticking them with the big chickens would be disastrous, right? This is our weather forecast, and this is GOOD compared to what it has been: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cabc0195
From everything I've read and heard from more experienced chicken keepers, chicks can be put outdoors as soon as they are fully feathered....so I guess that means that it would depend on the chicken itself (since some breeds mature quicker than others).
I raise chicks all year long, so as long as the chicks are fully feathered they should be okay. I might still have a light on them at night if temps drop way low. BTW I am so jealous of you right now. just got in the house from waterering everything a 3rd time today. It is 2:33pm here and is 99 degrees. Tomorrow the high is 108. blah. We haven't had any rain in weeks and the grass is crunchy and the corn is brown. Our rabbits look so miserable. Can I come visit?
I will post pictures for the expert opinion. These kids need some more room! But first I am going to Subway because a nasty virus knocked me out all weekend and now I'm STARVING. We have plenty of food, but my husband was sole caretaker for the kids all weekend which means the kitchen is trashed and I don't want to acknowledge it. Which has nothing to do with chickens, but you guys seem to really survive on chick pictures so I didn't want you waiting around or anything.
Valibby are you interested in a house swap? I'll trade your cold wet for my hot, humid, almost no rain (little in may none in June, ok July has been looking up and we finally got a few inches which raised the humidity even more). But I will warn you I'm talking heat indexes in the 100+teens. Your chicks will be ok. Hope you get back on you feet again. I understand the trashed kitchen. Just finished canning almost a bushel of tomatoes. That why I'm here at the moment don't want to face the kitchen anymore.
Just move em out! Mine go out as day olds with a lamp even if a brushing or 6 inches of snow falls in april. (WA) I understand the lack of summer.
What we've been doing is keeping the window open in the brooder room. So they have a heat lamp but are also safely getting introduced to cooler weather. When it's nice enough, they get outside time mixed in. If you could get a lamp out there, it would be fine to put them out now, but without one, I think they'll be too cold.
My chicks are going out for their first night tonight, the temp. is supposed to be 50' F (10' C). They are only three 3 week old chicks and they are 3/4 feathered in, but our neighbor told us to go ahead and let them out... then again the day temp is about 80' F so they get warmth in the day.
If you put them in with the big chickens keep an eye on them and make sure that the big ones aren't bullying them.The bigger ones can pick on the little ones real bad.If you can put them togeather but keep them seperated with a small fence so that they can get use to each other.It may take a few days but it will be worth it.This way they get use to each other and you keep little ones safe.
At 4.5 weeks I'm sure they will do fine without a heat lamp. If you're like most of us, you'll be out there checking on them during the night, at least the first night. They will likely cuddle together. If they're not piled one on top of another so badly that the one on the bottom is in danger of suffocation, they are fine. Might want to set it up so there's no draft directly on them. In my experience they don't like being nearly as warm as those charts say to keep them, except for maybe the first couple of days.
