what age do you put your chicks outside

[Berynn]

I am considering putting my little over a month old chicks (2turkens 1 Brauma 1 rode island red) outside in the coop with my easter egger. They have lots of feathers. I live in riverside ca. The temps get as cold at night in the 40
Should I give them more time

 

[rc4u]

jeez by some of these recommendations I would not be able leave my chickens outside as in ND our summer nites are 40 regular...but I go by nature, the hen has chicks in winter and she will bring them outside at young ages and free roam .... they are wild animals and can take more than most realize. But precautions are good just not babied per say...

 

[pepperluvsmee]

We keep our in the house as long as possible.

Usually until the temps stay over 50 at night and the birds are fully feathered and acting like chickens, not peeps.
We have room, and my husband built a special little "Peep Keeper" that looks nice in my den so we can watch them play.
So it's not a big deal as long as you clean the cage every day.
HAVE FUN! New babies are soooo cool! I love that little buzzing sound they make when you pick them up or they get spooked. So funny.
-Theresa

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
You're just using the temp as a reason the keep your babies in the house.
Eventually your gonna have to let them leave the nest.

You big softy.

Ya, if I had room I'd do the same.

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Ya got me there, PC. (where's the blushing smiley when you need it?) I did let them run around the house for awhile, but with no chicken diapers, cleaning up the poop was starting to feel like a full-time job!


Meghan

 

[EggLover5]

1/2" hardware cloth. Very strong and will keep predators as small as a snake out.

We have a friend with an incubator who hatched some of our eggs recently and brought us some of the chicks. Totally cool! They are in a big plastic bin with the lid off in my bathroom, but they are starting to jump out. We have 7 hens and 3 roosters in a 8'x8' coop/run outside and would like to put the chicks out there, but I'm worried about the cold and the roosters. Is this an issue? I can put a heat lamp in the coop for cooler nights.

 

[EggLover5]

This is the coop where the chicks would go. It is just starting to cool down at night (55-ish and lower) but 70's during the day. Again, not sure how the other chickens will treat the chicks as this is my first time doing this. Should I construct a separate area for the chicks?

 

[Kymanne]

Ya got me there, PC. (where's the blushing smiley when you need it?) I did let them run around the house for awhile, but with no chicken diapers, cleaning up the poop was starting to feel like a full-time job!


Meghan

I usually give them the heat lamp 24/7 for the first few days, then start dropping it down, Week 2 the lamp is off during the day but on at night. ..Start of week 3 they are outside all day in a predator proof A frame. I put a little cardboard box with a small hole cut into it with lots of shavings so they can cuddle up. I also tarp the entire A frame at night to keep the drafts out. End of week 3 they are outside for good. They have always feathered up much faster than if I have them in the house. I live in the Australian tropics (70 at night), so get why in the winter you would be more hesitant to let them out.

I don't quite understand letting a fully feathered chicken stay inside the house with a heat lamp on it. There is a natural progression chicks go through, leaving the Hen gradually. Rule of thumb is that if you do not see a fully feathered chick sitting underneath its mother,(even in winter) you are probably babying it. I love my chickens, but at the end of the day they are still animals. I could not begin to imagine why someone would allow chickens to run around the inside of their home pooping everywhere.... Maybe I totally misunderstood the above quoted post?

 

[arkwelded]

Our chickletes are all tucked in the roost. They are about 5 weeks and doing great with temps down to 30- 40 at night

 

[Phoenixxx]

Wow been a while since anyone haseen posted finally got my chicks in from Murray McMurray hatchery (30 red sex links) and I haven't fed them anything medicated. Is it gonna hurt to spring medicated food on to them I've had them about 2 weeks.

If they made it two weeks without signs of coccidiosis, don't bother - more harm than good, IMO. The antibiotic resistance/superbug epidemic the world is facing right now is largely due to overuse of antibiotics as preventive care in livestock! Please don't do it