Moving them from brooder to permanent coop

[WYNot]

Brooder is 36"w x 18"d x 24"h. Is that big enough for the five birds till they go out to the main coop in a couple of weeks? They are currently about 4 weeks old... I think. We got them on March 8 and not sure exactly how old they were from farm store. Guessing a week. Can they go out at 6 weeks or do they need to be in brooder till 8 weeks? Can always hang the heat lamp in the coop if needed. Was aiming for the weekend of 12 April as the kids will be up that weekend. Also, would be nice to get these birds out of the house. Almost forgot, they are supposed to be Rhode Island Red pullets. Picture should give an idea of their current size.

Most recent pics of the chicks. Taken 28 March 2013.


A couple of the birds just LOVE to go after the cat when they notice her sitting there. They puff up, jump at her, and are full of all kinds of bluster. Cat just sits there mildly amused. She's more interested in the heat than the chicks.


Oh, and I ordered some waterer nipples (WNR-1). Should make keeping fresh water available much easier once they are outside.
http://www.cconly.com/chicken_supplies/waterers

 

[Judy]

They shouldn't need heat at all at this point. I'd wean them -- raise it a day or two then remove. I'd also start taking them on day outings, if you aren't. Then move them. You might want to put the heat in the coop when you move them -- but I'll bet they won't be interested, if you've gradually removed it first.

But then, if they were mine, they would have gone in the coop with heat straight from the feed store.

 

[debid]

I'd move them to the coop with their light now to give them more room to run and flap around and plan on them needing the light for another two weeks based on how downy they are on the head and neck. You can look in on them and see if they are sleeping under the light or not.

 

[KWSRetMSgt]

This is the Coop' de Ville' my chicks will be staying in. Haven't raised chicken's since I enlisted figured I'd give them a villa to enjoy laying eggs in. Coop is 4 X 8 X 5 and the run is 15 X 8 X 6. And of course there had to be a nice "Picture Window" they could look out while sitting in the nesting boxes giving me those wonderful eggs.

 

[nbenevento]

To determine when they don't need the heat lamp or if they can go outside is not all about how old they are. It has to do with their feathers. The first to people to respond are from southern states and their methods will obviously work for them but you are from Ohio and it's not the same. If they are fully feathered, I would move them out when they are about 6 weeks old unless we are getting warmer weather, as in staying in the 60's or higher. I would still use the heat at night until they are maybe 8 weeks. I also think the tank you have them in now is too small and you may want to consider finding them something with a little more room. With that said though, if they are not beating the crap out of each other right now, maybe they don't mind it.

 

[WYNot]

Thanks for the replies.

Weather is trying to get into the 50's during the day but still getting down into the low 30's at night. Forecast is same for next 5 days.

They've got most of their feathers but still have fuzz on the heads and some small patches of fuzz on the body. Sometimes I can swear I can see their feathers growing. Every time I look at them they have more feathers.

Heat lamp is currently on top of the chicken wire lid. You can just see the lid in the picture I posted. Temp below it is right at 75. Am keeping an eye on the temp but was raising the lamp based on what they are doing also. Last week or so there has been no rhyme or reason to whether they actually need the thing or not. Sometimes they are all under it. Sometimes they are all on the other end of the brooder. Other times they are randomly scattered throughout the brooder. Temp in the brooder and the room is pretty consistant. Sometimes I think they are just sleeping where they happened to nod off. Kinda like kids, play hard and just crash wherever.

As for their behavior... So far they are getting along fine. No one is picking on anyone else to where it would be a problem. They do love trying to fly though. They'll start flapping and jump across the brooder. And of course as mentioned in the OP, they get all big and brave when the cat comes near.

First time dealing with chickens but this is turning out to be a fun endevour. Quite a change from what I'm used to.. dealing with beef cattle. Can't wait to expand the coop/run and get another batch of chicks next spring.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I live in Northern New Hampshire. My birds just hatched but plan on them being outside at 4 weeks. We promote feathering by lowering their heat, raising the light, over the course of two weeks then start turning it off for periods of time during the day. By end of week three mine are without heat inside. Days for us are in mid 50's to 60F with lows in mid 30's to 40 at end of April. Once outside I don't provide heat, even in winter.

Their much tougher then given credit. Simply ween them from heat and give them a few hours excursions outside during days. They'll be perfectly acclimated and feathered in in a week. As for brooder space they need about 1 sqft per bird at 4-5weeks of age so your still fine. Mine get less than that but by the time they really need that much space per bird are outside in grow out coop on tractor.