Moving to coop

[JoyV]

My girls are only 3 weeks old. The laundry room is getting crowded and messy! I’m in Glendale/AZ. Temps are mid 90/high 80’s during the day and mid 70s at nighttime. Their coop is under a cinderwall structure so they will have full shade. Can I move them to their coop this early?

 

[Henry&Friends]

I always wait until at least 5 weeks. Think you could do another week and a half? I’ll help clean up, lol.

 

[ValerieJ]

I have always waited until 6-8 weeks old, but it can be chilly here. However, there are several people on here who move their chicks out at 3 weeks. Your temperatures would be okay for that.

I'm always so careful about keeping the chicks warm and providing a cooler place in the brooder. Then when one of my hens raised her own, she had them outside on day 3. So, what do I know?

 

[JoyV]

I have always waited until 6-8 weeks old, but it can be chilly here. However, there are several people on here who move their chicks out at 3 weeks. Your temperatures would be okay for that.

I'm always so careful about keeping the chicks warm and providing a cooler place in the brooder. Then when one of my hens raised her own, she had them outside on day 3. So, what do I know?

Maybe I will wait 2 more weeks. Because my laundry room
Is so hot I didn’t even need a heat lamp! Now it’s hard for me to keep the laundry room cooler for them. I have them at 85 degrees in the brooder.. I can’t make it any cooler however. I have the ac vent open full!

 

[Matilda Belle]

I have three week old chicks that have been off heat since they were 1 1/2 weeks old (this hatch seemed much hardier than other hatches I've had). I'm going to try and move them outside probably tonight or tomorrow. Our temps are about 70 during the day to 60 at night. Not sure how it's going to go. I would suggest if you do move them, to check on them frequently to make sure they aren't uncomfortable/crying. If they are crying, they are cold and should be brought back in. I'm hoping my chicks find a nice warm broody to crawl under. Good luck!

 

[Chicken Heel]

From my today's post in the Ambient temperature for baby chicks thread: As an update to my post from earlier in the week, my young birds have made it great this week. This after being 90 degrees on Monday afternoon and 46 degrees this morning. They are also fully feathered out at not quite 4 weeks old which I have never witnessed with my prior chicks. And they are spunky boogers as well.

 

[DobieLover]

Maybe I will wait 2 more weeks. Because my laundry room
Is so hot I didn’t even need a heat lamp! Now it’s hard for me to keep the laundry room cooler for them. I have them at 85 degrees in the brooder.. I can’t make it any cooler however. I have the ac vent open full!

I'd put them out now.
I would not lock them inside the coop but make the run more predator proof (improve the latches on the human door and the nest box door and secure the entire coop so that it cannot be easily lifted up or otherwise compromised).
Provide some roosts in the run space for them as well as their water. Put food out in the morning and take in at night to reduce predators being attracted by the feed.
If it gets really hot, you could but a fan on them if you have a means to do that.

 

[TomZilla43]

Hiya Joy . Let me share a link with you that I found extremely informative and helpful. It's kinda the opposite weather side of what you're facing but I think you might still find it quite relevant: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors. Glad you could join us and I hope you find a solution that works for you, your chooks and your laundry room.