My chicks were born around 6/12 can they go outside now?

[mrl8810]

I have some chicks..19 to be exact..I have some Australurps and some Issa Browns...the Issa browns look a decent bit bigger than the Australurps...they do have some feathers because they are trying to fly around now. I have them in my storage building in a big puppy playpen with a top on it...I've been scared to put them outside because of predators such as rats and snakes. I live in the southeast where the average is anywhere from 70-95 in the summertime. Do you think it would be okay to put these babies in with my adult birds? I Have three standard-size chickens in one coop(its a 10x16 coop and a coop with a few bantams...none of the chickens are aggressive at all. I intend to build them another coop later on. I know that I've read that bigger chickens cant get along with baby chicks...but I've also read that the bigger rooster would protect the smaller birds? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

If you do a forum search on "Integration," you'll be able to read up on how to best go about this. Some people just toss them in there and hope for the best (my neighbor,) but I think that most people do not do that. You'd want to put them in with others but separated. Whatever you can do like a large cage or separator in the run. It's very likely that they would get dramatically picked on if you don't do this slowly. The point of the separation fence or cage, etc. is not just to keep them safe but so that the big's can get used to them. Give some good threads a read and see if you get some idea's that work for you. Good Luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Answer is yes and no. The chicks are well old enough to be outside, but plan on 1-3 weeks worth of integration, starting with a see but no touch period where adults can get used to seeing the chicks, but cannot touch them.