New chicks and a question (Pics added)

[Ste]

We got chicks yesterday from our feed store - according to them we have 3 Americanas and 3 RIR although one of the Americanas I'm thinking might be a white leghorn looking at pics. Anyway right now we have them in a wire pet crate with hardware cloth around it and we will be moving them into a large cardboard box today. According to the feed store they are 6 days old today.

My question is - How old do they need to be before we move them out to the coop? It's in the 50's here at night and 70's here during the day. We'd put the heat lamp out there for heat. The three sides of the coop are plywood about 3/4ths of the way up and we will be putting chicken wire above that. So what age can we move them out there? Can we put their box out there with them in it and the heat lamp?

 

[speckledhen]

You have about five weeks to go before they're about fully feathered out and can take cool temps. By then, the temps will be lower, too, so they may need heat a bit longer than six weeks. What will the temps be like in your area by then? That sounds like alot of open space at the top of the walls unless you cover it with plastic or shutters at night.

 

[MissPrissy]

I brood my chicks in my kitchen for at least 3 - 4 weeks before I send them to the barn with a 250 watt red heat lamp. Your chicks are too young to be able to keep themselves warm. They need to be a closed in draft free area with shavings to snuggle into and a heat lamp. They will still bunch up for warmth. In larger flocks of chicks they can smother one another and cause some to die from bunching up and huddling to stay warm. Your chicks haven't even begun to feather out and can't regulate their body temps real well right now. With cold weather setting in they would most likely need the heat lamp on at all times. If you send them out to the coop make sure it is weather tight and warm or you will suffer losses.

Edited to add - If you can keep them indoors for a few weeks they should thrive and do well to send them to the coop with a heat lamp.

 

[Ste]

We are in San Diego so that's about as cold as it gets here. Occassionally we will get high 40's but rarely do we drop that low.

We just went and got pine shavings plus 4 more chicks and now have them here

Currently we have them in enclosed porch area so no drafts and we have no problem leaving them there for whatever length of time is needed.

This is the coop that we will be moving them into. We put the nesting box in today and my hubby is painting it right now. Then we will put the chicken wire up and it will be all set.