Newbie

[Ericksen-Hrehor5]

We are new chick owners. We have 6 4-week old chicks inside, under the heat lamp. When can they go outside in their coop, and what is the best way to keep predators from getting to them?

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
They can go out to the coop when they are fully feathered, usually around 5-6 weeks old. Where are you located in the world? You can update your profile with that general information.
How cold is the cold part of your brooder? The cooler it is, the better the chicks feather out and acclimate to their environment.

 

[jennaa1434]

We are new chick owners. We have 6 4-week old chicks inside, under the heat lamp. When can they go outside in their coop, and what is the best way to keep predators from getting to them?

When they are fully feathered, or around 6-8 weeks they should be able to go outside depending on the climate there. Also you should make sure your coop is very secure based off of predators you have there as well, on my coop we have really heavy duty wire mesh instead of cheap chicken wire that most predators can get through. We also have locks on every door and window and so at night we pretty much lock the chickens in completely.

 

[Ericksen-Hrehor5]

When they are fully feathered, or around 6-8 weeks they should be able to go outside depending on the climate there. Also you should make sure your coop is very secure based off of predators you have there as well, on my coop we have really heavy duty wire mesh instead of cheap chicken wire that most predators can get through. We also have locks on every door and window and so at night we pretty much lock the chickens in completely.

Thank you!

 

[Ericksen-Hrehor5]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
They can go out to the coop when they are fully feathered, usually around 5-6 weeks old. Where are you located in the world? You can update your profile with that general information.
How cold is the cold part of your brooder? The cooler it is, the better the chicks feather out and acclimate to their environment.

We are in upstate New York, and it is still pretty cold here. The temperature tends to fluctuate dramatically here this time of year.

 

[DobieLover]

We are in upstate New York, and it is still pretty cold here. The temperature tends to fluctuate dramatically here this time of year.

Yes, I know! I'm in Upstate too and have a fire going in my woodstove. It's the middle of May for crying out loud!!
I have my nearly 2 week and 3 week old chicks out in the built in brooder in the coop now. They've been there since the were 1 and 2 days old, respectively. They are being brooded with a brooder plate with an old towel draped over it instead of a heat lamp. IMHO, it is the way to go. My chicks were ripping all over their brooder on a 28F morning.
How big is your coop? Can you post pictures of the exterior and interior?
If you have an old style heating pad that does not have automatic shut off, you can make them a MHP cave with it.

 

[Perris]

hello @Ericksen-Hrehor5 ! welcome to BYC

 

[Ericksen-Hrehor5]

Yes, I know! I'm in Upstate too and have a fire going in my woodstove. It's the middle of May for crying out loud!!
I have my nearly 2 week and 3 week old chicks out in the built in brooder in the coop now. They've been there since the were 1 and 2 days old, respectively. They are being brooded with a brooder plate with an old towel draped over it instead of a heat lamp. IMHO, it is the way to go. My chicks were ripping all over their brooder on a 28F morning.
How big is your coop? Can you post pictures of the exterior and interior?
If you have an old style heating pad that does not have automatic shut off, you can make them a MHP cave with it.

Lol...I know, I'm about to start a fire in the woodstove too! We are in Binghamton. IMHO??? Sorry, I really am a newbie!

 

[DobieLover]

Lol...I know, I'm about to start a fire in the woodstove too! We are in Binghamton. IMHO??? Sorry, I really am a newbie!

Heck, you are right up the road from me. I'm in Apalachin. IMHO = in my humble opinion.
You wrote that you already have your coop. It should already be predator proof. Do you have an attached run that is also predator proof?