Moving Chicks Outside?

[sophiaw00]

I have 8, five week old chicks. I just finished building my coop and run. The chicks were outside all day with free range of the coop or run and it was 60-70 degrees with on and off raining. They were all fine. Even in the 60 degree weather they weren't huddled together in the coop. I'm wondering when I can move them in there full time. I'm including a picture of my coop because it's a little different than other coops. It's made out of pallets and plywood, but the pallets aren't filled in (they have chicken wire on them though). This provides a lot of ventilation. In the winter, we will fill in the pallets with plywood that has insulation on one side of it. I can't really change the coop at all. The only thing I can do is wait longer to move them in. I think they would be fine (with the heat lamp in there too) but I want to get expert opinions.

 

[1muttsfan]

At 5 weeks they are not yet fully feathered, so supplying a warm area in the coop for them would be wise, but they can certainly stay out in the coop now. Watch them pretty carefully at the beginning if they have free access to the run, sometimes they do not go into the coop at night, or maybe do not understand how to get in out of the rain.

 

[donrae]

They'll be fine. I'd only run the lamp at night for another week or so then they should be good.

 

[sophiaw00]

Awesome! Thank you! I live in Northern Illinois so it's been cold a lot lately. Glad it's finally warming up. I'm kind of paranoid that something will happen to one of them so I've been checking on them every couple hours every day. When they move into the coop, I'm probably gonna be even more parnoid! Thanks for your help!

 

[chckn farm]

Mine will be 4 1/2 weeks by this weekend and I think they will be going to one of the coops

 

[kristaschics15]

My coop isn't ready yet but I'm so ready for them to be out! They are 4.5 weeks now.

 

[sophiaw00]

My girls turned 5 weeks on Saturday. When I checked on them this morning, I swear one of them grew feathers overnight because she didn't have feathers on her head yesterday but now she's almost completely feathered! I think I'll be moving them out permanently this weekend (They'll be 6 weeks) . I'm so excited for them to have this big coop all to themselves.

 

[newchickmama84]

My girls are 5 weeks old they are I their coop in our garage with heat lamp not so close to them. They look feathered can someone post a pic of what that looks like? Also when is it ok for them to have access to the ramp from the coop to the run? Were looking forward to taking them outside full time so are my allergies.

 

[sophiaw00]

@newchickmama84 here are a few pictures of my 5 week old chicks. These were taken last Friday. The chick in the third pic, April, has already grown in most of her missing feathers since then and is almost feathered completely. I've read that once you move them into their outdoor coop permanatley, it is best to lock them in the coop for at least a few days (a week or two is best) so that they know they can safely return to the coop at night once they are introduced into their run. This period of time allows them to get adjusted into their coop and know that it's their safe place and their home.

 

[chckn farm]

I am building a 4x8x3 tractor with a small coop on the end I was thinking about putting the young birds in