Newbie needing advice!

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SarahChap

SarahChap

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I'm new to the board and somewhat new to chickens,. We built a large coop on wheels so we can move it around and it's awesome! We have 10 chicks right now that vary in age, 4 Brahmas(the youngest) 2 red sex links, 2 rhode islands and 2 barred rocks. We have 2 young layers that are in the coop already that we bought from a friend (golden comets) we live in upper PA and the weather is finally warming up, but still dips low. I need to know about how old my chicks are and when I can introduce them to the coop? I should also mention we take them outside with us and we live on 15 acres.
Here are a few pics, the brooder is a mess because I was cleaning it out hahaha...
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Welcome to BYC!

Cute chicks!! You can take your birds to the coop anytime, but you will need to keep brooding them inside until they are about 5 or 6 weeks old. They look like they are getting there and should be ready soon. I like to take my babies out for field trips outside to free range, (under strict supervision) and introduce them to the coop early on so when they do go out for good, they are familiar with their new area.

Good luck with your babies and welcome to our flock!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You might like to check out the BYC Learning Center for starters, lots and lots of good articles on all aspects of chicken keeping you'll find helpful. The chicks should be about the same size as your older hens when you try to put them together, it is usually easiest if you have a long period of time where they can socialize with each other but not touch, like if you can split the coop into two sections or keep the chicks in a cage/brooder inside the coop. Would guess your chicks are about four weeks old or so from those pictures, they should be fully feathered by about 6 weeks which is when most people put them outside. This is a nice article from the Learning Center on integrating chickens of different ages to gether https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
And it might be fun to check out your state thread for chicken keeping neighbors https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/248345/pennsylvania-unite
 
Thank you! We have had them for 3 weeks(brahmas for 2) and they were not day old chicks when we bought them. It's good to get some insight on age. I guess my main concern is temp. I planned on moving the brooder out to the coop in a couple of weeks but didn't know what age most people do this because I have read a lot of mixed opinions. Our barred rocks seem to have the most feathering. They are all such sweet chicks though! We are very excited to slowly get them used to their new home. :) I grew up on a farm and around farms with chickens but I haven't dealt with it personally. As much as I can read on the internet, it's nice to get personal opinions and such. :)
 

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