What age is good to move chicks from inside to outside?

[Needycowgirl]

Ok last time I had chicks I did it later in the spring, so when they were 2 months old they were able to MOVE OUT of my office. My query is : Can I move my over 1 months olds out to a nice pen in my garage with lights?
Or do I need to keep them inside longer?

I am really hoping I can move them to a bigger pen in the garage, they are getting a little cramped.

Thanks all!!

 

[dsqard]

Kinda hard to answer that question without knowing what it is like where you live. If they can be kept fairly warm (like the temperature you have them at now) and draft free, they would probably be fine. I have read if they are kept at cooler temps they will feather out faster too. Just remember to wean them off the temps they are used to now.

 

[Fred's Hens]

At a month old, they are feathering and not nearly so fragile. They still need an 80-85 F "circle of heat" with ability to move to cooler places, as needed. If you can do that out in the barn, sure move them. Garage? Same thing, If you can still provide them a warm spot consistently, there's no problem.

 

[Woofless]

I bought 6 babies on Valentine's Day and I've been brooding them in my garage since day 1. And I live in South Dakota; where it was in the teens & even a few nights of single-digits during the last half of Feb. I was wary of buying chicks so early- last year was my 1st time raising chicks and the stores in my area didn't get them in until April 1. But I figured I'd go ahead and give it a try with a small number, and hope for the best. Brooding them inside my house is NOT an option.....I tried that last year and after ONE DAY my entire house reeked of baby chicken. I don't know if I did something wrong, or if some folks are doing something differently than I did....but I couldn't stand the stink!

Initially I clamped the heat lamp to the edge of the big stock tank they were in & used a piece of wood to block off 2/3 of the tank, so they were restricted to a smaller area. I also put a couple towels & a pane of glass (from an old window) over the top of the brooder (leaving a little space where the heat lamp was clamped), to keep the heat in & to keep drafts out. I put the tank in a corner near a wall, where I knew it would be pretty draft-free no matter which direction the wind blew. And for the first week I worried & checked on them almost obsessively.

But they did fine. Kept nice and warm. Now they're big & healthy and growing their feathers. I've raised the light to about 2 feet above the stock tank; still keeping the glass over the top to keep it from getting drafty (it's still getting in the 30's at night and it's been really, really windy the last week or so). Stays about 75 degrees in there. Your chickens should be fine as long as they have a lamp & it's not drafty and cold!!

 

[ScissorChick]

Ofcoarse, as long as they have all of their feathers, And as long as the weather isn't freezing.