Transition questions: temperature, time outdoors without food?

[bawkbawkbawk]

My girls are 5 weeks old. Our coop is not quite finished, but we've been gradually increasing the amount of time they spend out in their run. The brooder is getting pretty cramped with four teenagers in it!

Our temps have been fairly cool - I'd say mid-to-high 60's on the west side of the house where they are. Warms up, of course, late afternoon.

Here's my food question: I have a waterer in the pen, but how long can my girls be out there without access to food? Is two hours too long? I toss some of their starter on the ground for them, so they have that, but their feeder is in the brooder. Could they stay out longer than two hours? It's definitely more interesting out there for them, but I don't want them to get too hungry or cold.

We're hoping to transition them to the coop within the next week. I know they're young, but the coop is very well built and we'll have a heat lamp in there. I guess my temperature question is, at 6 weeks, what are the lowest temperatures they can withstand without distress? The brooder temperature is around 70-75 degrees. Our lows at night are in the low-to-mid 50's.

Should I turn off the heat lamp in the brooder to get them ready for the coop?

Here's a picture of my BO and Delaware so you can see where they are, feather-wise:

 

[Judy]

On leaving them in the pen without food, I imagine opinions would vary widely. Maybe compromise and take a bigger handful of food to throw on the ground for them. Not everyone offers feed 24/7, although I personally think it's better. I'm all for outdoors as much as possible and would certainly leave them more than two hours. You could go toss another handful of feed after two hours, too. To me, they're not too young to be in a coop at all, but then, I'm not big on brooding in the house.

They would probably do fine in the coop without any heat a week from now, but the light might be good at first, to encourage them to go in the coop at night, and would probably make you feel better. Not sure I'd use a heat lamp, maybe just a light bulb, depending how warm it gets in there, of course.

I would probably turn off the heat in the brooder now.

 

[Quack Shack]

Food available is OK. They won't eat too much and they are growing fast so they need lots of calories. I like to give my little chicks some time to scratch in the grass and munch some corn treats without being robbed by the other hens. It's like exercise with a purpose so that when you do intergrate them into the rest of the flock, they will be pros as scavenging.