Need some knowledge

[Scoupski]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums and am about as noobie as it gets when it comes to chickens. I need some help or advice on a few things related to chicks. My brother in law recently got into urban farming which sparked the interest in the rest of his family which has now spilled into my home. Long story short, I now have 3 rir chicks approx 2 weeks old. I live in AZ and with the exception of our odd weather lately the temperature ranges from 90-100. Currently I have the chicks in my makeshift brooder box in the garage. My question is would it be OK to move them into the coop already? They seem to do well in the garage without the heat lamp turned on, which would make me think its hot enough to put them outside. When I turn the lamp on it seems like the huddle away from it. I caught one "flying" up on top of the waterer today, one more "jump" and he would have gotten loose in the garage. I know I can put something over the top of it, but wouldn't they be more comfortable in the coop where they can "fly" or do whatever they want? My next question would be, do I confine them to a certain area in the coop? Meaning keep them in the lower section (is that the run?) and out of the perch/roost area or can I let them go up into the perch area and just not the roost area? I tried to do research on all this, but there are just so many varying opinions/questions that I thought maybe I could be more enlightened by posting.

Thanks for your time and thanks in advance!

 

[Nexxus6]

My 3 week old chicks are living outside in the coop with no heat lamp. I'm in Maine, it's been 50 to 75 during the day and has been in the high 40's at night. They huddle together at night and stay warm just fine.

They like to flap and run. And when they are small they are very good escape artists so I keep any high perches in the middle.

Let em go anywhere in the coop. They are curious and need to keep busy exploring. They will find their favorite comfortable places.

Hope this helps. Easy to get overloaded with too much information here. Good luck.

 

[curious chickee]

Mine are outside already and I do have a heat lamp set up for those few nights when it drops below 50,but it is turned off most of the time, with your coop let then have the whole coop, but block the nesting boxes with cardboard or something so they don't get in the habit of sleeping in them. My new chicks are only a few days old so I have the heat lamp on now for the first two weeks.