The Great Outdoors!

[SemiSweet2391]

It’s my first time with chickens! My lovely chicks are 17 days old and loving life! I’ve just finished the “middle school”, the safe enclosure that is bigger than the brooder but smaller than the coop and run. It’s outside next to the run (separated by hardware cloth) so the hens can get used to the little girls before introductions in a couple months.

Temps range from high 90’s during the day to low 70’s at night! I’m still planning on having the chicks sleep in the brooder for a few more weeks, but at what age could they graduate the brooder and be in the “middle school” full time? Thanks for your help!!

 

[cavemanrich]

An accepted timeline,, is 6 weeks. But that is also for much colder ambient temperatures. Chicks are feathered out by then.
Here is the suggested brooder temperature settings. Please consider, that the temperature is at the warm end of brooder. Chicks can migrate to a cooler spot, if they desire. (away from heat source)
Week 1,,, 95°F
Week 2,,, 90
Week 3,,, 85
Week 4,,, 80
Week 5,,, 75
Week 6,,, 70

So in your environment, I think you can probably send them to Middle school after 4 weeks. Especially if the housing is draft free, from wind gusts.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[rosemarythyme]

Assuming your temperatures are consistent and that you don't have any birds with unusual feathering (i.e. Silkies) they can be out right now without additional heat. 70 is quite comfortable for healthy 2 week old chicks as long as they have a draft free, climate protected place to shelter in.

I'd also urge you to consider moving up your timeline for integration, if you have ample space in your set up. There's no benefit to waiting a few months to integrate them when you're already starting the process now. Early integration takes advantage of their smaller size, quickness, and the fact that hens don't view them as a threat: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ (You can skip the first 1/3rd of the article which is about setting up a brooder.)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We start ours in the house for three weeks, then move them to an outdoor brooder next to the big girls till they're 7 - 8 weeks old, and at 8 weeks they are fully integrated with the big girls. My article on integration explains (with pictures!) why it's so easy when you do it the way you are, with an open-mesh (hardware cloth) barrier between the two groups.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-a-pictorial-guide.79343/

 

[SemiSweet2391]

We start ours in the house for three weeks, then move them to an outdoor brooder next to the big girls till they're 7 - 8 weeks old, and at 8 weeks they are fully integrated with the big girls. My article on integration explains (with pictures!) why it's so easy when you do it the way you are, with an open-mesh (hardware cloth) barrier between the two groups.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-a-pictorial-guide.79343/

Thank you for this article! I forgot to ask a question. My run isn’t covered. There is a couple of shady sections (tree shade and under the coop), but there is no netting. Is that dangerous for the chicks? Are they a bigger target for hawks etc? That is what is making me hesitate about integrating them with the big girls.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My brooder run isn't covered either, and we've never lost one to a hawk. It's pretty small and I don't think it's maneuverable for a hawk to get in and out of. Maybe ... 20 x 20? And the 5x8' brooder is smack in the middle of it. The littles are more at risk if they are out in the open. By the time they join the big girls in the big run (ours is about half the size of a football field, just guessing), at 8 weeks, they are just about as big as the big girls. They don't weigh nearly as much, being still mostly fluff, but visually they don't look like baby birds any more. Hope this helps!

Oh ... and our big run does not have much shelter. We have what we call the Bus Stop, a sheet of corrugated metal attached at each end to a sawhorse. It provides shade and shelter from rain, and they congregate under that. But they spend the majority of the day free ranging on about 3 acres where there's lots of shrubs, bushes, a carport and other places to hide. I think the main thing is to realize that by the time you integrate, they should be big enough to run with the big ones.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

And, I'm glad you enjoyed the article.