Three week olds outside?

[cluck love]

Question - is it okay to take my 3 week old chicks outside for 1-2 hrs during the day, if weather permits? I am new to raising chickens and all has been going great so far. Today it is a sunny, beautiful 85 degree day and I would love to bring the girls out to their coop for a bit. Would love any/all feedback - Thanks!

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

yeah, I bring mine out at 1 week to play for an hour.

just make sure that the coop is predator proof, and if the weather stays good then you can put them out in the coop permanently at 4 weeks.

 

[buildingmyark]

They would have a blast!

 

[chick-george]

When my girls were that young, I slid the bottom tray out of the dog crate and placed it on the grass. They had a blast!

 

[hunterjumper999]

my chicks go outside and into growout pens as soon as they get wingfeathers as long as its over 85 degrees out during the day

 

[gryeyes]

GO for it! They'll love it. You'll love them loving it. You won't want to take them back inside.... Just make sure there's water for them. And, of course, you supervise them all the time so nothing untoward happens during their little outing.

 

[mrsbos]

I took my 2 week old chicks outside (sunny and 85) and they LOVED it and I loved it! They scratched in the grass/dirt/rocks, chased and ate bugs, and just looked so cute exploring. They definitely did not like going back into the brooder. I feel bad for them now because a cold front is cooling things off here by 20 degrees and it probably won't be warm enough for them to go outside until they're older. I'm going to buy a plastic kiddie pool and some poultry netting so they can have a bigger play yard indoors. Right now everytime I go in to check on the chicks and remove the overhead screen, they fly out of the box and don't want to go back in (and it's a very large box)!

-Michelle

 

[3chimama]

I do. Just make sure they are safe from predators.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
That's one reason why I have my brooder in my bathroom, and have never had a lit on it. With the door safely closed (and it opens OUT so any little nosy, puppy dogs cannot paw it open) the chicks have the whole room to themselves when they learn how to fly out. It's tiled, baby chicken poop is easy to clean up RIGHT AWAY (within the same day), and they get so much pleasure out of their excursions. I open the bathroom door and a chick or two are standing in the middle of the bath mat, looking startled. They usually hop back INTO the brooder, or at least back up to the edge of it. Sometimes I find evidence of chick presence in the shower stall, or on the toilet seat. But everybody is in the brooder.... hmmmmmm....

OR sometimes I find a chick investigating its own reflection in the shiny sink faucet.

When they fly / hop to the edge of the brooder when I'm in the bathroom, I cheer 'em on. Way to go, chickie!

But that's just me.

They always go back into the brooder in the evening, too, when I have to turn out the light in there.

 

[mrsbos]

What a great idea, Linda! I have a small bathroom that I could use as a dedicated chick room...at least for 3 or 4 more weeks! I may try that out!