Their first night outside on their own

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nerfworthy

nerfworthy

Songster
Mar 29, 2018
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South Western Idaho
:hit it's eerily quiet in the house and I keep going out to check on them... I'm sure they'll be fine...Lol :bow

20180419_191243.jpg
 
My first batch went out here in Northwestern Wyoming at 5.5 weeks. I just flat out evicted them. Oh, I turned the heat lamp off for a few days first, and put the lamp out there for them when I moved them. The first night our temps plummeted down to 18 degrees. I was up all night long, jumping out of bed and checking on them. They were fine. I was freezing! They were all snuggled down in front of the pop door and not even using the lamp. The second night was the same story...except I only got up once to check them. The third day the lamp came out, and that night it snowed.

That was on an April 1st. We didn’t get our last snowfall until June 6th. If I’d kept them in until temperature charts, books and experts said they could go out, they’d have been in the house in the brooder until they were 17 weeks old. Yeah, not happening. That April was when I began to understand that estimates of how much heat chicks really need was not quite accurate, to put it nicely. A mother hen has no nightlights, no space heaters, and her chicks are out running over mud puddles and the even occasional patch of snow, and thriving. I never raised chicks in the house again. 8 batches, raised outside from the start. I had to decide first what I was doing - was I trying to raise delicate little Divas in a hothouse or did I want strong, self confident chicks who would thrive outdoors where they would happily live out their lives? A two pound hen knows what they need. Why is it so hard on us?

Putting them out that first time is nerve-wracking, and I sure understand that, but eventually they simply have to live out there. The more fuss we make about it, the more it gets to us. So if not now, when? Wean them off the light or the heating pad and prepare them. And for those using a heating pad, you’ve probably noticed that they hardly use it anymore after 3-4 weeks anyway, preferring to wean themselves from heat the same way they decided they needed a warmup. That’s the beauty of letting them self regulate. For lamp raised chicks, they’ll hate you when the light first goes out, especially the first few nights, but after throwing the equivalent of a toddler’s temper tantrum they get over it quickly. We, on the other hand......
 
Last edited:
featherhead007 said:
I hated the day I moved the youngsters to the coop!
I felt separation anxiety all night!:hit
Click to expand...


Separation anxiety is the perfect description, Featherhead007. Mine are old enough to go outside, but I have been using "cold weather" as an excuse not to. (Uh, I live in southern California, and it was 65 degrees today, and I know this is not really "cold.")

I know they are bored & will LOVE the day when they finally get to free-range outside with the flock. It's chicken paradise out there! But in my selfish little heart, I wish they could be house chickens forever!
 
m3shelly said:
Ah, yes. This is my first time. The new, unusual snow is off-putting, but I'm going to keep them in their coop for the first few days, as suggested elsewhere, to ensure they're comfy and return to the coop at/near dusk.
Click to expand...
If your coop is big enough, just bring in a mattress and ...... never mind.
 

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