Putting young Coturnix outside...are they okay?

[quiltnchik]

At what age should I put my young Coturnix in their outdoor pen? I have them outside right now and they seem to be doing fine (they'll be 2 weeks old next Tuesday). The weather is in the 80s here and in the high 60s to low 70s at night. Are they still too young or will they be okay? They're staying in the nesting box for the most part, and only venturing out onto the wire (1/2" hardware cloth) to eat and/or drink. They're separated from my 4-week-olds' pen by a wire barrier and the older ones are having a fit! One of my roos was crowing (I heard one crow yesterday, but never could figure out which one it was, so I finally got to see it today) and the females were making some weird sounds. Maybe this will stimulate egg production soon (they'll be 5 weeks old next Tuesday)! *LoL*

 

[NancyDz]

I put mine out at 2 weeks old but i did have a light on them at night for another week or so... since it gets down into the 50's here.


Nancy

 

[quailbrain]

Mine are outside and they are two weeks old. The temps here vary 55-100 the last few days. I would keep an eye on them and take their actions as your cue.

 

[QuailKeeper]

i prefer to have them outside when they are at least 4 weeks old. then they are fully feathered and close to maturity

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
I put the last batch out at 2 weeks old and they did fine. This batch has a nice nest box and, when I checked on them earlier, were all sleeping in a corner and I could feel the heat coming from them. I'll keep an eye on them, but it looks like they'll be okay. There's no way I could keep them in the house until they're four weeks old - they were running me to death getting them food and water 5-6 times a day! lol

 

[monarc23]

this time of year I throw them out into the grow out pens at 2 weeks old, winter time i dont throw them out until they are fully feathered (no quills).

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
So do you think they'll be okay, or should I bring them in until next Tuesday?

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have been putting mine outside around 2-3 weeks, but they go into a big wooden box on the porch at first (no light). The reason for this is that my cages have 1" x 1 1/2" wire on the sides, and the little boogers can probably squeeze out. Other than that they are fine. I do cover the box on nights that it gets cooler than normal, but that's it.

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
Awesome, thanks! I figured they'd be fine outside, but wanted to ask some of you experts to be sure

 

[Wawa21]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this post I live in vegas. And now I'm raising coturnix. I had some coturnix hatch and I left them in the brooder for about a week and then I put them outside of couse with a light bulb to give them some heat. And I havent had any die being outside. They seem to be comfortable (lol) and now the're doing great I have them outside on dirt. But one of the things I'd say that it depends very much where you live. Like here now lowest it will go is between 75 to 85 at night so I think it would be ok for a week or week and a half old coturnix to be outside but with a light. Well thats what I can say by my experience. Btw there are 42 coturnix in my hatch.