Transition from cage to coop

[OpenDays]

New chicken raiser. My chicks are almost 7 weeks old. I have them in a cage in an outbuilding.
I'm preparing an outdoor coop. I would like to transition from the cage to the coop. How long do I leave the chicks in the coop before I let them free range. Remember, I'm a beginner. I'll start feeding them in the coop. I'm assuming they will return to the coop to roost. At what age do the chicks become chickens? When they start laying?

 

[Big Chicken Little]

They could free range now but i would get them used to the coop for at least a week. They will lay about 20 weeks plus or minus a few weeks depending on breed

 

[bantiesrule]

I would also let them out late afternoon or evening on the first day you release them.

 

[cmom]

I have a coop I use to brood in. I keep them in the coop for their first week or two. Week 2 or 3, depending on the time of the year and how warm it is outside and how well they're feathered out, I open their pop door and let them decide when they want to go out.

Pullets are chickens less than a year old. Hens are chickens a year old and over. Most of my girls started laying from 20 to 24 weeks.

 

[Mahlzeit]

I would leave them in the coop for a week so they can call it home before letting them free range.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Welcome to the addiction of chickens! As most others say,I would keep them inside the coop for a week before they are let out. You could place your cage in the coop for a while, leaving the door open to the cage. After a week, I would let them free range about an hour or so before dark. Just enough time to investigate a little, but not too far from the coop that they get confused about it's location. They may not "roost" right away, but they'll know to go back to the coop for bed time!