Transporting chicks outside

[KBGB]

Do you have a photo of that grow out coop? If you have electricity out there you can move them out there permanently now, just provide heat. If those temperatures hold you should be able to move them out permanently without heat in another 2 to 2-1/2 weeks.

I have a dog crate, would using that without the tray so they can peck the grass be sufficient?

As long as it s a wire cage and not a plastic crate, absolutely. The one warning would be to make sure they can't get through the wire. You can start that today if you can hang around. They will tell you if they get cold. Try to put it where the wind doesn't hit it.

At two weeks they can fly reasonably well so don't let them fly away. Once they are loose they are hard to catch since they aren't trained to come to you. They are not as delicate as you seem to think, either physically or emotionally. I'd probably look at a cardboard box with a lid to move them if you don't want to carry them two at a time. The hardest part of this may be catching them to take them back inside without letting them loose.

Thank you so much! This is my first time with babies so I am paranoid! I attached a picture of my growout coop. We also added hardware cloth all the way around the run after this picture was taken. The blankets etc are from a super cold night when our other chickens were still in this coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have 3 20 week old hens in the main coop and run. I have a grow out coop that is inside the run. I am located NW of Atlanta Georgia. Temps are in the 60s/70s right now. I have 6 chicks that are currently two weeks old. I am not planning on making short trips outside for another couple of weeks. I was just trying to think ahead logistically to how that would work. My brooder doesn't have a side entry, only top. View attachment 3016233

Looking at your brooder, here's something to try if you ever raise chicks again... try turning it on its side, so the door swings open sideways or down like a drawbridge. That'll let you access the chicks from the side rather than from above.

And at 2 weeks old with those temperatures, I'd definitely be taking them outside already, as long as the dog crate you're using is reinforced so they can't squirt out between the gaps in the wire (many dog crates have bigger wire openings). As far as how to transport them, I used to use a shoebox, since it has a lid and you don't need that much space to carry 6 chicks just to outside.