Topic of the Week - Moving Chicks Outside

[Companihen]

This has been helpful as I'm at this stage soon too. I'm in the uk and this week and next forecast is showing 22C highest and lowest at nights around 10C. I have 12 chicks, a mix of silkies, polish, and frizzle. They are 3 weeks old today and at very different stages if feathering.
I've been moving them into their outside run during the day for a few hours for the last 4 days and they love it out there. Flying, perching, exploring, dustbathing etc.

I'm wondering if I can move them outside all the time soon, especially as it's mild atm. What's the thoughts and advice from the pros? I could use an extension lead and put their hear plate out too, if that's safe. I'll attach some pics of their current brooder box inside which they regularly escape from!! And some of the outside run set up.

Love some advice....have had hens for many years but first time incubating and hatching chicks since I was a child!

 

[Companihen]

Sorry just seen none of my pictures sent these pictures relate to the above post

 

[ASP]

Hey guys! I have 5 week old chicks that have been spoiled in my laundry room for too long. I live in Phoenix AZ and right now it's overcast and rainy at 100° Normally 110+ and sunny during day 90s at night. We have been taking "field trips" out to enclosure around coop at sunset but only for maybe an hour at a time. 3 are just about fully feathered but one still fuzzy. Given all this when can they go out? Is my coop secure? When do I transition off (med) chick starter? 1st timer and I'm already a crazy chicken lady now but I need some help!

 

[Sylvester017]

@ASP -- lots of things I would do differently but my ideas are mine alone. None of these ideas may be your cup of tea so just showing what we did in the past 13+ yrs of chickeneering.

Your temps seem awfully high. At those temps I never put half grown birds outside. Matter is, we kept most of our chicks and juveniles indoors till they were 4-5 months or older no matter what weather we had. Was it a mess to keep them indoors! You bet it was -- with a lot of floor scrubbing in the kitchen (we aren't built with an adjoining laundry room or enclosed porch to accommodate muddy boots, dog crates, or brooders for pets, so kitchen was it).

Here's some pics of keeping chicks or juveniles indoors. The dog crate was used in the den for required one-month quarantine for any new birds before integrating into the backyard. New young birds were house birds till they were old enough and weather permitted to give them occasional supervised outdoor time.

Rabbit fencing with overhead bird netting to give a juvenile limited supervised outdoor time.

Once with only one juvenile to be integrated we made a chicken diaper but it was more trouble to clean up than it was just quickly picking up poop from the tile floor!

It was easier to just let the bird "free-range" the kitchen.

4'x4' dog crate with bird netting on top to keep juveniles from flying out -- we had room in the small den to fit this crate -- used for quarantine

Another time we had several chicks we used a kiddie pool with bird netting on top -- in the kitchen again. Our outdoor temps were 100+ and indoors 90+ so we never needed a heat lamp for the chicks. But in a couple weeks they were too big for the pool and they just used it to sleep at night. They jumped back in the pool & put themselves away at dusk.

These 3 juveniles stayed indoors till 4 mos old because our summer heatwave was brutal that year.

Our most recent cheap brooder set-up this year in the den. These chicks stayed in the kitchen as juveniles for almost 5 months before integrating with the 3 outdoor adult birds.

It rained so much this year we kept them indoors & couldn't integrate the new Silkies for nearly 6 months or they'd get soaked and chilled to the bone.

As for security we learned the hard way that a smaller coop, chicken wire run, and flimsy yard gates were not predator proof. With our first coop two large stray dogs broke into the yard and tried to tear the chicken wire walls to get at our birds -- TG our neighbor chased them off so no birds were harmed but that chicken wire could've been torn to shreds. The coop frame was sturdy but it should've had stapled-down hardware cloth walls and NOT chicken wire. The coop was mounted on paver stones all around so no predator could dig under to get to the birds but the chicken wire was a flaw. And no amount of tarps or pop-up canopies overhead kept the little coop cool in summer or dry during storms!

We quickly found that keeping a couple bantam chickens in a 4'x6' coop/run was too small even for 2 bantams and we had to release the chickens in the yard to roam, forage, sun or dust-bathe, forage, run, flap their wings and do all their natural chicken stuff. We set up a pop-op canopy for shade.

When we remodeled the backyard we tore down the old chainlink fence & tarps to put up a block wall with additional privacy fencing on top and iron bar gates to keep out stray dogs. We divided the yard half for raised garden beds and a people patio and other half as a chicken yard with 3 popup canopies, citrus trees, and dog houses for shade and for hiding. We also removed the first chicken wire coop and put a bigger sturdier dog kennel wire coop/run in its place with its own patio roof to protect from hot sun or rain storms.

As for getting new chicks we get them Marecks vaccinated only -- I don't hatch my own eggs that way we don't get unwanted roo's. We don't feed medicated chick feed but use chick probiotics in their water. We watch that their poop is not bloody and that no chick gets pasty-butt.

And we have a refrigerated arsenal of chicken meds on hand and cabinet-stored first aid supplies. There are BYC threads on the recommended supplies/meds to keep on hand.

It took us over a decade a bit at a time to get our yard chicken-proof and safe. But even with all the sturdy block wall, privacy fencing, and locked iron bar gates, a mountain coyote walked the neighborhood roofs and fences and got into our yard at 5 a.m. TG our coop was sturdy locked! DH called animal control and they captured the critter. City raccoons, possums and feral cats prowl the neighborhood at night so we're glad the barn coop and run are heavy duty dog kennel wire and bolt-locked.

Another predator we have are Cooper's hawk
(chicken hawk) so we cut down aerial flying space with patio roofs, popup canopies, trees, dog houses and benches for hiding.

Enjoy your chicker-doodles and great that you want the best safest environment for them

 

[Companihen]

I ended up moving mine out. .. 12 in the house, flying out of their box all the time got a but much. In the uk we've had Temps of over 20C in the days this week and lowest I think 12C at night. They have 2 coops and one has their heat plate in. They're set at different angles so they get the shade/sun at different times of days. They have a safe enclosed run but I let them out in the garden for a supervised amount of time twice a day. They love dustbathing during this time so far they seem fine. I hope I haven't done the wrong thing and they keep strong and well

 

[Sylvester017]

@Companihen -- your chicks are adorable doing all their happy dust bathing!

I don't know what predators are in your area. We have chicken hawks, raccoons coyotes, opossums, feral cats, stray dogs, small rodents like rats, rabbits, squirrels -- my DD additionally gets skunks, poisonous rattlesnakes, lynx, bobcats, mountain lion, deer, and black bears so she doesn't keep chickens.

One thing we learned early was to make our coop/run secure with either buried hardware cloth under the coop, surrounding the coop, or use paver stones or cinder blocks around the coop/run to prevent digging dogs/foxes/coyotes.

My friend had a little Jack Russell Terrier that dug under the coop/run dirt to get to their 6 hens and killed them all. After hearing that we always set our smaller coop/run on top of pavers and on a later build we set on solid concrete patio slab with the bigger barn coop/run. A highly secure run is a priority for chicken safety which seasoned chicken owners highly encourage here on BYC.

Our first coop/run set on paver stones

Our 2nd barn coop/run was placed in the same location but this time on solid concrete floor with built-on patio roof over the barn coop/run.

Every owner including me seems to get chicks before thinking out a safe secure housing. Dumb me never thought two stray dogs would crash our wooden gate! So glad a neighbor stepped in to save our first flimsy coop and bantams! At least the dogs couldn't dig UNDER the FIRST little coop because we had it set on top of paver stones!

In the free range chicken yard we set up 3 popup canopies and 5 large dog houses and 4 citrus trees mostly for shade/hiding and a couple benches. And we noticed it interfered with hawk flight patterns. Hawks fly over their prey and grasp running ground prey in their talons but don't usually engage in ground fighting with their prey. So we were happy to discover we had discouraged aerial flight space!

 

[Companihen]

@Companihen -- your chicks are adorable doing all their happy dust bathing!

I don't know what predators are in your area. We have chicken hawks, raccoons coyotes, opossums, feral cats, stray dogs, small rodents like rats, rabbits, squirrels -- my DD additionally gets skunks, poisonous rattlesnakes, lynx, bobcats, mountain lion, deer, and black bears so she doesn't keep chickens.

One thing we learned early was to make our coop/run secure with either buried hardware cloth under the coop, surrounding the coop, or use paver stones or cinder blocks around the coop/run to prevent digging dogs/foxes/coyotes.

My friend had a little Jack Russell Terrier that dug under the coop/run dirt to get to their 6 hens and killed them all. After hearing that we always set our smaller coop/run on top of pavers and on a later build we set on solid concrete patio slab with the bigger barn coop/run. A highly secure run is a priority for chicken safety which seasoned chicken owners highly encourage here on BYC.

Our first coop/run set on paver stones
View attachment 3873778

Our 2nd barn coop/run was placed in the same location but this time on solid concrete floor with built-on patio roof over the barn coop/run.
View attachment 3873781View attachment 3873799

Every owner including me seems to get chicks before thinking out a safe secure housing. Dumb me never thought two stray dogs would crash our wooden gate! So glad a neighbor stepped in to save our first flimsy coop and bantams! At least the dogs couldn't dig UNDER the FIRST little coop because we had it set on top of paver stones!

In the free range chicken yard we set up 3 popup canopies and 5 large dog houses and 4 citrus trees mostly for shade/hiding and a couple benches. And we noticed it interfered with hawk flight patterns. Hawks fly over their prey and grasp running ground prey in their talons but don't usually engage in ground fighting with their prey. So we were happy to discover we had discouraged aerial flight space!

We don't have anything like that many predators!! Foxes would be our main ones... and then the sea gulls too possibly. I have seen a sparrowhawk here too and I think they would try go for the chicks if they free ranging.

I'm more worried about the temperature causing them harm

 

[Sylvester017]

We don't have anything like that many predators!! Foxes would be our main ones... and then the sea gulls too possibly. I have seen a sparrowhawk here too and I think they would try go for the chicks if they free ranging.

I'm more worried about the temperature causing them harm

You are so good caring for your chicks

As for predators -- we never had predators until we put chickens in the yard. Predators smell the chickens and the chicken food and all of a sudden we had predators! So don't think you won't eventually get predators. Foxes and dogs are very cunning and jump high over fences or dig under them. Always think to be safe before a predator discovers all the chickens. We were safe for almost a year before the two stray dogs broke our wood gate.

When our weather is very hot we put ice cubes in chicken's insulated Rubbermaid water containers. We bought a nipple attachment for the 2 gallon Rubbermaid thermos.

Some people freeze a small plastic water bottle and float it in their chicken water dish to keep it cold while the ice bottle melts. Just don't fill the plastic bottle to the bottle top so it allows frozen water to expand without bursting the bottle in the freezer.

What we also do is run sprinkler water real slow in the shade so the hens can stand and play in the cool muddy water. Chickens like to stand in water on hot days.

So happy to come across your chickens. Aren't chickens fun? Lots of people are getting backyard chickens in the USA. Lots are getting ducks, geese and turkeys too but we're too small backyard for those birds.

 

[BarbJeanne]

My 6 girls are 8 weeks old and their coop is finally ready for them. My question is is it safe to put them out in the coop with temperatures in 80's and 90's? The coop has a screen door on it, 2 small vent "windows" at the peaks of the roof and 2 side windows. Their run is not finished so they will be in the coop only. I plan on giving them lots of cold water and food. Also, are they old enough for treats like watermelon, cabbage, zucchini squash?

 

[Sylvester017]

My 6 girls are 8 weeks old and their coop is finally ready for them. My question is is it safe to put them out in the coop with temperatures in 80's and 90's? The coop has a screen door on it, 2 small vent "windows" at the peaks of the roof and 2 side windows. Their run is not finished so they will be in the coop only. I plan on giving them lots of cold water and food. Also, are they old enough for treats like watermelon, cabbage, zucchini squash?

Whether you put juveniles outside all depends on whether there is someone home to monitor their comfort during the day. Our barn coop pop-door is always open and has a wire floor but it still gets very hot inside the coop. It's parked under a patio roof for shade but hot weather is hot weather no matter what we do.

Ice water, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, cooked sweet potato, all help. But as always, having someone home to monitor chicks is best.

Good luck as we all go thru these dismal summer days!