Ready to move to coop? Help me age my chicks!

[whitneyj09]

I have only three Buff Orphs. Meet Gloria, Bernadette, and Pegg.












I am building my coop this weekend, which is fully contained and will (hopefully) look something like this...

...At least for now, until I paint it white, gray, and red to match my house! Anyway, I live in the Grand Valley in Colorado. The weather here is in the 80's during the day and averaging high 50's to mid 60's at night. The temp is very stable, and will start getting much hotter very soon.

I know to keep them fully contained in the coop for a week or two so they know where they can sleep. What I am wondering is, can I put them out there now, and if so, do I need a heat source? In their brooder in the garage, I have been using a 60 watt incandescent light bulb providing indirect light for the coop that I turn on at night. They seem to be very comfortable with it.

I don't know their age, so feel free to give me your estimates on how old you think they might be, It would be helpful. I purchased them 2 weeks + 2 days ago, and when I did they already had some little wing feathers. Also please let me know if you think they can be moved out full time, and, if so, will they need a lamp?

Thanks!

 

[chickenbythesea]

they look about 3 weeks... I have some that look similar and that's their age. I would definitely provide a heat source at least at night since they're not fully feathered in... they should still have heat in the 80's so your night time temp would be a little chilly for them. I would definitely put them out with a light. Mine are in the coop with a light at day one.... I'm not sure why so many people keep them inside their homes for so long. That coop design is lovely by the way. Hope this helps a bit.