Newbie

[newbie of six chicks]

We are new to backyard chickens, we have 6 chicks, 3 - Red Comet and 3 - ISA Brown. They are 4 weeks old and soooo cute! I would love any advice or suggestions. They are still in the garage, what is a good age to put them out in a backyard coop? Our ave. temps here in NC right now range from about 55 - 80. Can I use colored nail polish on their feet to identify them? Can pine straw be used for nesting?

 

[RyderTheChicken]

First of all welcome to BYC. The age I usually let them go outside is about 6-8 weeks, and pine straw works fine for bedding and nesting.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome! Glad that you joined! At 4 week's old, they should be fully feathered by now, and if they are, they can go into the coop. Good luck with your flock!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[igorsMistress]

Welcome to BYC. With those temps the chicks should be fine outside without supplemental heat.

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome, It's so great to have you here!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
They are fine to go outside right now.
You can put a dot of a colored marker on the nails, just avoid red
Pine straw will work fine for bedding. If you don't like it, try something else.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal Community!
Best wishes and Be well!

 

[drumstick diva]

If they still make colored nail polish for poodles (used to have a grooming salon) you could use that. I raised dogs many years ago and used a different color on a front paw of each puppy - then kept a list of who was who. By the time the color was wearing off the puppies were old enough to tell apart.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens!