New here no experience with chickens what so ever!

[07butler]

Hi I'm from the south decide I wanted some egg layers I currently have 2 almost 3 weeks old rir chicks so any suggestions on raising when to move outside and when to take off the light would be very helpful I've been reading like crazy my head is about to explode with info lol thanks

 

[KaylorFarms]

You can take the light off your chicks at about 5 weeks, or when they are fully feathered out. and move them outdoors at 7 weeks. That's what I did with mine. Just make sure they have a fenced in area to keep out predators.

 

[N F C]

Everyone was new at some point! If you haven't already done so, check out the Learning Center...there are articles there that cover just about every topic you can imagine.

Best of luck to you!

 

[redsoxs]

Hello from Kansas, 07butler, and welcome to BYC! It's great to have you in our community! Here's a link to the Baby Chicks section of the Learning Center: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks
There should be some useful info there for you! Good luck on your chicken journey and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under 07butler

Welcome!

At the risk of sounding like an enabler

you might want to consider getting at least one more chicken. Sadly, we lose chickens along the way and if you lose one, your remaining hen will be very lonely. I have been there, done that and got the T-shirt! Had to race out and find my lone chicken a friend, waive quarantine etc. Now, I have 5 and make sure I never drop below 3.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[drumstick diva]

Teila is right, it's always good to have an extra 1 or 2 birds as backup, in case you lose one. Depending on age, it can be complicated to add new birds to established ones, and a single chicken wants company.

 

[07butler]

Yes we have two right now they were early Easter presents for my kids. I have someone bringing me some more chickens this weekend but they are older. So I will have 2- 3 week old chicks and 3-4 7 week old chicks so the smaller ones will stay inside till they are big enough to join the others, from what I've read it's good not to mix them together. We hope to finish our pen this weekend.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

 

[ninjawesome]

Hi there and

! We're glad you could join the flock!

You can't go wrong with a beautiful RIR hen! As long as they are fully feathered and if the weather permits, you should be able to put them outside when they are at least 5 (6-8 preferred) weeks old. I'd recommend using a heat lamp at a portion of the night, if not during the day, for the first little while so they can become acclimated. (As you probably know, chicks naturally tend to hunker down in a big ball of fluff when they go to sleep at night - this will help them stay warm when the temps are lower.) Another good approach is to let the chicks roam around outside (under supervision of course) for a couple hours each day so they can get more used to the outdoors, and then to make the transition when they seem big, strong, and feathered enough to do so. Other than that, just check your weather forecast and if it looks good then there ya have it! Transitioning 'em is quite fun and entertaining to see them get used to and absolutely love the much larger space for them to run around and play. Anyways, good luck and have fun!

P.S. Sorry if I made your head explode even more...