Should my 7 week-old chicks go outside in cold temps?

[FluffnFeathr]

Long story short I hatched out some chicks in late December, Bielefelders to be exact, against my better judgement. My access to hatching eggs from this breed is quite limited where I am so I jumped on it despite the inconvenient timing. Now I'm not sure how or if I should be transitioning them to the main flock now. They are currently in a heated section of our workshop with current temps set to about 10 celsius. I've been titrating them down the last couple of days after kicking them out of our mudroom. We live in Eastern Ontario, Canada where temps range from 2C to -25C or colder. I have two draft free coops joined by one large run with a flock of 15. The babies have access to a CozyCoop in their current setup as well. There's 5 of them and they're full feathered and thriving but growing like weeds and need more room. Any tips or words of wisdom would be appreciated!

 

[Chookchicken]

Welcome to BYC!

At that age they should be able to go outside, though if your worried I’d put them outside and keep a close eye on them to see if they look like their starting to get cold. Just if you do put them outside expect a little bit of pecking. I hope this helps.

 

[FluffnFeathr]

Welcome to BYC!

At that age they should be able to go outside, though if your worried I’d put them outside and keep a close eye on them to see if they look like their starting to get cold. Just if you do put them outside expect a little bit of pecking. I hope this helps.

Thank you for the advice and warm welcome! I can section off a part of the coop and place them outside on a more mild day and see how it goes. I've raised and integrated chicks before but... just not in the middle of winter Nervous new chicken mama, here!

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Yeah, I don't think it would hurt if you watch them close but if they have been in a warm space their feathers won't be as thick so you may to transition them slowly to the cold.

 

[spartacus_63]

I put my three week old chicks outside (in the coop). They have access to a Brinsea 20 brooder, but they are rarely under it.