The Deed is Done--Chicks Outside at Night for first time :(

[Wildflower_VA]

My chicks are almost six weeks old, been fully feathered out for some time. Black Australorps mature faster than most heavy breeds. I have been procrastinating for some time about finally putting them in their coop and run for a while. My excuse has been that it has been unusually wet, cold and windy. Yesterday and today were both beautiful, so I ran out of excuses. It is supposed to rain tonight and all day tomorrow, so I changed my mind about a million times today, especially when I went out at close to dark and they were distress crying like they had lost their best friend. They came running to me and it was all I could do to put them in the coop and shut the door. I did put a battery camping light in there with them, even though they have been sleeping without a light for about a week inside.

Being a chicken mama is harder than being a kiddie mama!

I had no trouble at all doing what was best for my kids, at the proper time, but this was really hard putting my baby peeps out in the dark, all by their little lonesome, for the first time.

The reason I am telling y'all this is so I won't go out there and bring them in!

 

[theoldchick]

I know how you feel. I've been known to put a night light in my grow out coop.

 

[AlienChick]

Just wait till you go to bed!!

I put my babies out to a larger brooder in the shed when they were 3 weeks old, and just before bed I was brushing my teeth and peering out my bathroom across the driveway to the shed thinking that maybe my babies need me and I should run out to check on 'em.

I knew I had to resist!

I went to bed and thought about them till I fell asleep.

 

[TreeHugger]

My little cochin bantams went out about a week ago. The first two nights I went out about 2am to check on them. They had a heat lamp and were fine. Today I removed the heat lamp and put a regular light bulb in it. I figured they didn't need the heat anymore but I didn't want them to be scared of the dark

 

[Wildflower_VA]

Quote:
Go to bed?????? You expect me to go to bed when my wee tiny babies are out there in the dark with foxes and coyotes?!?!? Oh, no! I was kidding, but we really do have coyotes and I see a red fox all the time.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Chickens need darkness to rest and sleep. At some point soon, you might consider allowing the darkness. Sometimes we project our worries upon our chickens. A broody hen would have them in complete darkness from sundown to sun up. Just saying.

 

[AlienChick]

Quote:
. . .



See what I mean!




.

 

[Wildflower_VA]

Fred's Hens :

Chickens need darkness to rest and sleep. At some point soon, you might consider allowing the darkness. Sometimes we project our worries upon our chickens. A broody hen would have them in complete darkness from sundown to sun up. Just saying.

I know. I will probably only have the light for one night. We have been having unseasonable cold weather, so today was only the second time they had been outside at all, and their real run is really large. They never got over being scared. They stayed huddled in a pile of leaves under raspberry vines for most of the day. The most timid chick had her head under the leaves for most of the day. If they had a broody hen to take care of them, I wouldn't worry. My goal is to raise hatchery chickens this year and then next year let the Mama Broody Hen take over the job like nature intended.​

 

[jenni22776rn]

I know how you feel...well not quite! I have two 9 week old bo that are still coming inside at night because I think they are not ready!! Bravo to you for not going out there and sleeping with them on their first night!! That first step must be the hardest....

 

[zengrrl]

My chicks are still in the brooder in the basement but every night when I come home I worry over the coop-in-progress looking for wild animal movement. I'll be a wreck once their out with the predators!