Moving chicks outside

[Dirt Girl]

I am moving my 10 chicks out to their new coop today. It has a 12x12 outdoor run attached. I know they're supposed to stay in the coop for a few days so they know where home is.

My question is ... do they have to stay inside the coop or can they also be in the run?

One more question ... do you have a feeder and waterer inside the coop and inside the run?

I am a total newb ... Thanks

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

they can be in the run and in the coop. what i do is i put feeders and waterers in the coop and in the run.

 

[ButchGood]

I started out with food and water inside the coop. Once they know where to find food and shelter , I put food and water outside as well.

 

[kmatt87]

they can be in the run and in the coop. what i do is i put feeders and waterers in the coop and in the run.

good to know. i'm new to this too and thought that they had to be in the coop the entire time.

 

[nikka77]

I am glad you asked this was one of my questions as a newbie as well.

 

[Delta2 23]

They can be in the run too during the day. You might have to prod them a little to get them inside the coop for the night, but after a couple of times they should know what they're doing by themselves!

 

[BuffBard]

Just the thread this newbie was looking for. My six week olds went out yesterday and I was wondering if they needed to stay in the coop all the time for the first week, or could they be given access to the run during he day?

 

[debid]

You can do it either way. Our big coop's run isn't secure enough for young chicks so mine were given only supervised out time until they were too big to go through the chain link or be eaten by a snake. They were so thrilled to have all of the coop space and a high roost! And then, when they started getting all-day run access, they already knew to return to the coop at dusk -- no herding needed.

 

[Jo Anne]

I finished building our coo/ tractor yesterday and put the 7 week olds inside but no one wants to come outside?
Maybe it's still too cool outside? We had them outside all day yesterday while finishing the tractor and them seemed fine

 

[debid]

I finished building our coo/ tractor yesterday and put the 7 week olds inside but no one wants to come outside?
Maybe it's still too cool outside? We had them outside all day yesterday while finishing the tractor and them seemed fine

Going through the door is new. If you have a ramp, that's new. The view is different. Don't worry, one will let curiosity win over fear and the rest will follow.