Today is the girls' first day outside - worried!

[MarieNC]

Well the coop is 99% finished and I will get that done today. So the girls, who are now about 10 weeks old, will go outside to their new home. Besides having all the normal butterflies and second guessing myself, it's HOT here! These little critters have been in the AC since they were two days old and I'm concerned about putting them out into the heat and humidity. Of course if I wait until the weather cools off, that will be October here! I have a fan ready for them, along with frozen bottles of water for them. Other than that how can I prepare them for this hot weather? I don't want to make them ill straight away.

 

[orionburn]

I think you'll be fine. Our hen hatched out 8 chicks back in June. Temps have gone from the 50s to the 90s during their life. Momma has taken good care of them.

Have you taken them outside before? It may take them some adjusting, but as long as they have plenty of water and some shade they should be fine. We'll throw an ice bottle or two in our coop on days when it's really hot as well, so nothing wrong with that. What have the temps been down there lately?

 

[MarieNC]

Quote:
It's been in the low to mid 90s for weeks and weeks, but THIS week it will get to be near 100 with high humidity. It's been one of the worst summers I've ever experienced down here. They will have plenty of shade, as the coop is in a clearing in the woods and there are very tall trees all around, and half of the run has a roof on it. They have two hanging waterers right now but I could certainly get them a third.

 

[elmo]

I would acclimate them more slowly. Put them out of the morning, bring them back in for the afternoon. Each day, add an hour to this routine. That is, if you're home all day and able to do something like that. Either that, or you could check on them every hour in the afternoon to make sure they're all handling the transition ok, and bring them back in if you saw signs of heat stress.

If no one is at home, honestly, I'd wait until the weekend to do this. It's a real shock to be used to air conditioned indoor temperatures and then suddenly have to spend the whole day in this extreme heat.

 

[orionburn]

Quote:
^That.

Given those temps I'd ease them into it too. We used to take our chicks into the yard and let them roam for a bit in the afternoons when it warmed up.

 

[oconnorfamily25]

They will most likely be fine. Check them often and if their beaks are open, bring them inside. It means they are too warm. Also, look around for tall grass/weeds, because we lost a chick to this and you could lose them in there too.