When can chicks and ducklings go outside?

[jasmer]

haha yeah the ducks grow so much every day. We decided to put the coop outside after all. We're going to keep the nest box closed off for now and hang the lamp where it is right now, and put plastic up over most of the hardware cloth, leave just enough space for ventilation. We'll close them in there at night and let them run around during the day if the weather is nice. The ducks avoid the light like the plague and the chicks aren't too wild about it either, though I did notice last night several of them finally got tuckered out and went to sleep in the corners around the lamp. We'll put some tarps up around it to cut off drafts and stuff too, and we still might just bring them inside at night. We have 3 heat lamps and a large plastic dog kennel laying around so moving them in and out as needed shouldn't be a problem.

 

[farmer boy]

that coop u have seems really small for all the birds u have .. you know the pekins will be the size of adults at 6 weeks right and they can get up to 10-12 pounds and then the female will be around 9-10 i think i forget but it seems really small for all the birds u have

 

[countrygirl74]

I think they will be fine going outside with a heat lamp. I would say no if you didn't have a heat lamp but since you have an area where they can go to warm up, I say go for it! As long as they can stay warm at night as well - no drafts, they should be okay overnight too. Just make sure you don't have any stragglers that get shut out of the heated area.
As for the coop, that coop will only be able to house a maximum of 4 grown chickens and even that is pushing it. My MIL has the same coop and it is only useful for sleeping and laying eggs - she has 3 in it. They build a run around it so they are not enclosed into that tiny coop. It basically just serves as their house AND we live in AZ where they are not shut in much over the winter. But if you have a rainy/stormy day and the only place to go is inside that coop, only 4 chickens will comfortably fit and they can't move around much. I'm afraid that with as many chickens (and ducks) as you have, you will need closer to a 10x20/10x30 run with at least a 4x8 house. If you separate the ducks from the chickens, you can use a dog-house type shelter for the ducks (super easy), and maybe a 3x7 or so house for the chickens. If you have long winters and lots of bad weather, you will need to increase your house square footage if they will be stuck indoors a lot. Hope this helps!

 

[jasmer]

Yeah, we got the coop and it was a spur of the moment thing. We have a large chicken coop and run but obviously I don't want to leave the chicks in there. We had a couple broody buff opringtons, maybe I shoulda put the chicks under them and let nature do its thing, I was just worried that with 15 more chickens around that it might not be safe.

Anyway we're gonna put them outside with a run, and bring them in at night for a while. I know the pekins get huge, we had planned on doing an outdoor area from the start but then I got to thinking it wasn't a good idea and came here to ask.

Thanks for all the info guys. We'll put plastic up all over the little coop and hang a couple lamps in there and give them a nice fenced area to run around. We'll bring them inside at night for a while until we're convinced they'll be alright all night shut into the coop to sleep.

 

[countrygirl74]

The little coop is a great chick brooder or grow-out pen!

 

[jasmer]

Well we got the chicks outside in the little coop, they're holed up in the brooder box with their food and water and a heat lamp. There's ventilation but it stays plenty warm in there. We'll check on them several times through the night to make sure it stays that way. We got started on an A-frame run that we will attach when it's finished. We'll put plastic over the whole thing and an extra heat lamp or two and they should be good to go.

 

[jasmer]

SUCCESS! Chicks and ducks are outside in a tarped run. Brooder box stays 90 degrees, everybody's happy.