When are chicks old enough to be outside during the day?

[woodmort]

Keep in mind when a setting hen thinks her eggs are all hatched she takes her chicks outside. So as long as the weather is warm and they have some place to go for warmth they can probably go out earlier than you'll be prepared to let them. That being said, once they are fairly well feathered out, use to being away from heat and have access to grit, I let mine wander around in a caged pen during the warm part of the day. I hesitate to give a number of weeks since the feathering process, in particular, can vary.

 

[Chickengene]

The kids seemed to have survived the cold nights outside. When I opened the door to their coopondo, they came running out and straight to the waterer. Then as soon as I placed the feeder in their run and backed away, they began to eat.
Last night was predicted to be the coldest at 31 degree. But like anything weather related that has changed. Tonight is now predicted to be 28/29 or so. They also turn five today, so if the survive tonight I will throw them a party tomorrow..lol
Apparently since I put Miss Penny in the coop after everyone has gone to roost they really had no ideal she was there till this morning. Not sure about their capacity for smell but when I opened one of the doors and let some daylight in where they could see her, they, got very excited.

 

[WiccanKC]

We keep them in a pen in the garage until they are about the size of our hens. Then we merge them

 

[Missbc]

My chicks are four weeks old today. They went outside on Sunday. I would’ve had them outside much earlier but we didn’t have their enclosure ready until Sunday.

I have a premier one plate in a 19x30 dog crate with a soft cover (wind break) inside their run. They go in there at night and snuggle in under the plate.

Their run snugs up against the older hens so they see each other. I’m going to give it a week or two before opening the door between their areas. Most likely I’ll shove them to the big run one night and coax them into the hen house.

Next time I’d do this I’ll only brood outside. I spent hours cleaning the unfinished basement yesterday. And it’s not a clean finished space- it’s tool storage/workshop and garden storage and garage all rolled into one. But the cleanup was a pain! Too many house projects going on, so getting the run done involved having dh get really sick of the baby chicks in the basement!

 

[yaldnif]

I put mine outside at 3 weeks and it was in the 40's and 50's during the day. I made an enclosed run with straw bales, a hog panel and netting on top. It kept out the wind and with some plastic on part of the "run" it was nice and toasty 70's in there. They loved it! This is in a fenced backyard and we kept a close eye on them.