Topic of the Week - Moving Chicks Outside

[Backyard Bruce]

I'm kicking these kids out at 3.5 weeks(this coming wednesday). I just finished the coop today for the most part and will be complete by the time they move in.
The weather here in NYS is really going to be nice after Tuesday sooo, THEY'RE OUT!!!!

 

[Shaylee G.]

My new chicks are 4 weeks old and are pretty much feathered. Do you think it is safe for them to go outside. The night temps are around 30 to 50 degrees and the day temps are from 50 to 70 degrees. I can run the heat lamp on an extension cord but I hear it's risky to do that.

 

[MT Coop]

Had my chicks in a "laundry room" brooder until they were 3 weeks old - and that last week was strictly due to the never-ending snow..... moved them out to their coop - with heat lamp at 3 weeks - and will be pulling the coop door open to let them explore the run when they are 6 weeks old. we're still windy and cooler here so not taking any chances with chilled birds who can't find their way back inside

 

[Barry42001]

I brood untill fully feathered fuzz isnt insulating enough being in florida cold not a issue but feathers also insulate against heat

 

[tastone]

We have been brooding them in the garage with a light, and slowly weaning them. We take them to a pen in our backyard to get used to be out on warm days (live in VA) They love it! They are about 6 weeks old, and fully feathered other than a few stray fuzzies.

My question is when we move them to their run & coop, should we lock them up at night so they learn to go into their coop at night, and let them have free roam of the pen & coop during the daytime hours? A picture of the coop/run is attached.

I've also heard until the begin to lay, we need to block off their nesting boxes.

Any advice would be helpful. We are new to this.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

We have been brooding them in the garage with a light, and slowly weaning them. We take them to a pen in our backyard to get used to be out on warm days (live in VA) They love it! They are about 6 weeks old, and fully feathered other than a few stray fuzzies.

My question is when we move them to their run & coop, should we lock them up at night so they learn to go into their coop at night, and let them have free roam of the pen & coop during the daytime hours? A picture of the coop/run is attached.

I've also heard until the begin to lay, we need to block off their nesting boxes.

Any advice would be helpful. We are new to this.

I would round them up and lock them in until you go out to do it and see they’ve done it themselves. They make get it right away or it may take a few days. I usually give them until 15 minutes after official sunset.

Whether to block off nest boxes depends on how attractive they are for sleeping. If they are lower than the roosts and the chicks can get up onto the roosts (not always a given right away), they should choose the roosts. If you catch them sleeping in the boxes, remove or block them off for later. You can also not put anything in the boxes bedding-wise to make them less comfy and tempting.

 

[cindyloowhoo]

Loved reading these posts! Answered Q's I have on my little ones. They're going on 2 weeks old tomorrow and doing fantastic. Happy, healthy little fuzzy butts! Getting nice feathering and 3 have cute tail feathers. Today I put a thermometer in the brooder to check the temp since I had raised the light to lower the temp. The temp is 85. I notice they don't seem to huddle under it as much, and lately notice they don't even seem to sleep all huddled as much up but just lay down themselves. This weekend I'll be doing the coop and run and want to move them out into the coop at least with a heat lamp on as it's the only heat they'll have being outside. I'm hoping they'll do fine and seeing these posts I think they will. Always appreciate any feedback especially being a first time chicken lady

 

[hoosierhens101]

I give them a day or two in the house to make sure they are eating, drinking, and know where to go to get warm, and to watch them for hatching or shipping stress, then out they go. I use a big x-pen I used to use during my dog showing days and set it up out in the run. We cut two openings in it for Portal Doors (ala @azygous, who came up with that brilliant idea when she also started brooding directly out with the older chickens too) to make integration easy. Mama Heating Pad goes in and that's it. Been doing this for a long time now, and raised 8 batches of chicks out there very successfully. I have partial integration with the flock starting at 3 weeks and at 4 weeks I have total integration. At the end of that 4th week the brooder comes out completely.

You put the MHP in the run not in the coop? I am getting ready to send my first brood outside with their MHP soon. They will all be 1-2 weeks old. I have a sectioned off area in the coop with panic doors that can be opened and a door that can be opened for access to the outside in a separate area from the big birds. I am worried so any advice would be welcomed.

 

[Blooie]

I just put them in the run because I wanted the brooder to be spacious, I wanted the adults to be able to walk openly all the way around it, and our run was a hoop mostly wrapped in tough, mesh-reinforced plastic - think greenhouse. If I could have achieved all of that in my coop, they’d have been set up in there.

Our setup is different than a lot of them. Our pop door between coop and run was open 24/7 year ‘round. It was secure, and once we got it secured, we secured it some more. My electrician hubby wired the run and the coop, so I had safety outlets in both. So yep, I brooded my chicks in the run, and would continue to do so. It worked perfectly for 8 batches of chicks.

You just need to do what works for you, your setup, and your personal comfort zone.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

You put the MHP in the run not in the coop? I am getting ready to send my first brood outside with their MHP soon. They will all be 1-2 weeks old. I have a sectioned off area in the coop with panic doors that can be opened and a door that can be opened for access to the outside in a separate area from the big birds. I am worried so any advice would be welcomed.

I think it really depends on the setup and use of your coop. If you can achieve what you want in the coop, great, but like Blooie, I brood in the run. My chickens don’t use their coop much during the day except to deposit eggs. My mature birds find other shade. Keeping chicks in my coop would not get them the exposure to the flock such practices aim to achieve.

It sounds like you’re more prepared than most and more prepared than I was when I sent my first few batches outside. Don’t worry about opening the panic doors right away; you will get all the benefits of early integration even if they’re shut and I like 3-4 weeks as a good time to integrate anyway. Expect to remove the brooder setup before the chicks use the coop as it is intended. If you have time, you can do some supervised outings once after a few days. The birds don’t mind and the exposure is good at relaxing people!