transition to coop

[RedMoxie]

Wow! Thanks for all the support and stories. It sure is fun reading your stories!
I did want to move them at 5 weeks...but it s still cold in june here. Some BYC peeps suggested until the June - gloom was gone. Now it' warm, they are big, and ready for a new adventure.
Thanks for the tips. I ll let you know how it goes!!! Happy fourth! ♡♡♡

No disrespect (seriously, at all) but I am laughing at what cold means to an Angeleno in June. Are you actually in LA, or is that old news? I was born and raised in CA--it's never too cold in June to brood outside if your setup is decent. Good luck and trust that your chicks are made of pretty tough stuff!

 

[ronott1]

No disrespect (seriously, at all) but I am laughing at what cold means to an Angeleno in June. Are you actually in LA, or is that old news? I was born and raised in CA--it's never too cold in June to brood outside if your setup is decent. Good luck and trust that your chicks are made of pretty tough stuff!

So very true!

I read about people in other parts of the country where they have to put on a sweater in the evening. We have not had sweater weather in months here in Woodland California!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I moved mine around in a laundry basket lined with puppy pads. That way they could still see out and the basket was easy to hose out if someone had an accident.

 

[SabritHadid]

Ours were moved into the coop, with "cattle fencing" between them and the rest for a few days. Then we removed the fencing and every body did fine!

 

[bruceha2000]

I was born and raised in CA--it's never too cold in June to brood outside if your setup is decent.

Me too. Where the OP lives is NEVER too cold to brood outside. Heck, hardly ever cold enough for a sweater ... unless you grew up there. Then a 50° day is "heavy winter coat" weather.

 

[RedMoxie]

Me too. Where the OP lives is NEVER too cold to brood outside. Heck, hardly ever cold enough for a sweater ... unless you grew up there. Then a 50° day is "heavy winter coat" weather.

It's so true! I don't want OP to think we're having too much fun at her expense, but I love hearing my family (still in SoCal) complain about cold during mid-winter when it gets to about 50 and we're just hoping for a day over 30 so we can start working the yard for spring!

So glad you made the transition, OP!

 

[bruceha2000]

It was an odd day in January (during the annual thaw) when it was warmer here than it was at my mother's in So. Cal. I think we hit 57° and she was 55°.

 

[Fluffy&Cutie]

Probably it would be alright, but there are some variables. chickens can have trouble with heat, too. When they are young don't regulate their body temp as well, and small size contributes to that. It depends on where they are now and what temps they are currently exposed to, as well. I personally would wait another week, but it is your choice to make and you are the one that will have to deal with any ill effects. I lost 2 of 9 8wk old turkey poults that I had just bought last year because it turned cold the night I brought them home (in June) and they had been living outside. Stress of the move may have contributed to that. Since you only have 2, that is less to provide warmth at night. One solution is to set up a heat lamp where you are going to put them outside with an extension cord if needed. If they don't go near it, you can take it out in a couple days. They will need shelter from sun and wind (I would say rain too, but So Cal hardly ever gets any of that in summer). You don't really describe your coop set up, so I can only guess.

This is a great answer. I agree, when you have only 2 chicks, they can't help keep each other warm, if it gets cold. I would give the one not fully feathered time to catch up. I think the heat of the daytime might be as much a problem as the cooler nights, unless you have a nice shady area to put them.

My last hatch, I had 20 hatch, and I gave them a heat plate, and put them outside at 1 week, and they did fine. My grow out coops are all fully shaded, the runs have small areas that get sun. The temps were not as hot as they are now when I did that though.

This is the advice someone gave me. I took it. I didn' cause me any stress to keep them just a week longer. (And it DID cause my son stress to put them outside.) There is so many pieces of advice one can get. I do feel a bit judged from you guys...I am just trying to do the best I can.
& I am super glad I live in so cal. It never gets colder than 35 here, so I know FOR SURE the chicks will be fine all winter long! Enjoy your day!

 

[ronott1]

This is the advice someone gave me. I took it. I didn' cause me any stress to keep them just a week longer. (And it DID cause my son stress to put them outside.) There is so many pieces of advice one can get. I do feel a bit judged from you guys...I am just trying to do the best I can.
& I am super glad I live in so cal. It never gets colder than 35 here, so I know FOR SURE the chicks will be fine all winter long! Enjoy your day!

Congratulations on your first Featured thread!

Thanks for starting it

 

[Nats Chickens]

I'd just stick'em in there...worked with my birds when we had an upgrade and they were completely cool with it.