When can chicks go outside

[Den in Penn]

I live on the coast. Weather ranges from 55 to 70 during the day depending on fog, and in the 50's at night. I have 4 week old chicks. They are starting to get the combs on their heads. They get irritable with each other, and one is constantly trying to fly out. We started putting them in their pen a few hours a day and that has helped them be less argumentative with each other. When can I put them outside overnight without a heat lamp? We are quite smitten with these chicks and I don't want to go out some morning and find frozen babies.

As soon as they have fully feathered at around six weeks.

 

[Mettomom]

Hi! I am new to the chickie world too. I have three little ones, two well summers and a Buff. The Buff is growing MUCH faster than the other two... her feathers are coming in and the others aren't, or at least not as quickly -- Should I take the Buff out to the coop before the others, or wait until they all have their feathers and bring them all together?

I have had them for three weeks, but I know they are all several days a part - I take them out once in a while and watch them, and they have a blast

 

[Den in Penn]

Move them all at one time. They are flock animals so separation is not advised. They are integrated now and the separation would break the pecking order and could cause problems when put back together.

 

[birdsrfun]

Noob here. Our chicks are just 3 weeks old, but are very restless in the brooder box, and when the lid is off, they are hopping up to the top edge of the box. Their feathers are coming in pretty well.

I put them outside at 2 weeks. I brought the brooder box outside, and set them on the ground for about 10 minutes in the sun. We are in the S.F Bay Area, and although the temperature that day was about 80, the thermometer got up to about 105! The box was sitting on cement, and that really heated them up. I was glad I noticed the thermometer, and I brought them back into the garage.

We finally put together our coop, and I am going to put them in there this week for a short time when it is sunny out. I think they will really get a kick out of it.

 

[motherbird]

i have several chicks to be honest age and breed vary. the oldest are 4 weeks 2moro. they r getting stinky and rowdy and love to play outside for a few hrs. im constantly checkin on them afraid a big bird will scoop um up. im adding a roof to their play yard asap. i would love to be able to put them outside safely for good. i have silkies and cochins the same age as my aruacanas but they are smaller a couple are much smaller should the smaller breeds stay inside longer than the bigger breeds? any tips on raising silkies? also i tryed my hand at incubation at 23 days i had gotten depressed and nearly givin up since no sign of hatching but i float tested a few and seen movement so i wait and on day 25 they start hatching i got 4 so far its day 26 now number 4 hatched out at 5am today. come to find out tho i have mistaken rouen duck eggs for white chicken eggs and they are in the bator too. so im soooo confused on this whole incubation thing. my dark colored eggs are the only ones hatching so far does color matter? i know its alot of questions but i need some answers. thanks for reading!

 

[Traphill]

I put mine out at 3 weeks with a lamp at night, its warm during the day and in the high 50's at night. They are so happy and so am I ! I don't usually brood inside this time it just worked out that way.

If you think that you have mites I would check the vent but I doubt that you do at that age. I would never use Sevin dust on my garden let alone my chickens......Manna Pro has a spray for mites which has natural enzymes, you can find it at Tractor Supply.

 

[jneerwin]

Hi, I'm new to BYC and I am wondering the same thing. But I'll be getting our chicks sooner than I had anticipated. So we have 7 laying hens that are supposed to be here (Northern NM) on February 10th. Eek! We have a well built coop ready to go, but we are not wanting to take the risk of running a heat lamp inside the coop. So obviously we will be starting the chicks in our garage with a heat lamp, but when will it be safe to move them to the coop without a heat lamp? By the time they are 4 weeks, we will still be expecting average high temps just under 60 during the day, and mid 30's at night. But a cold front could always come unexpectedly. Any thoughts?

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi. Welcome to BYC. This is an old thread, but the question you ask is one that comes up frequently. There may be some good articles regarding brooding chicks in the learning center, or you can type any question or topic in the search bar at the top of the thread. I find that when I read through other folks threads, I get answers to questions I didn't even know I had.

Regarding brooding: you'll want to start those chicks at 90 - 95* under the brooder light, and then decrease that temp by 5* every week. You'll find that your chicks will tell you if they are cold or hot by their behavior. They'll sound stressed, and pile up under the light if they're cold, and if they're hot, they'll sprawl around away from the light, with wings spread. They may even pant. A chick demonstrating this behavior is in trouble from being over heated. Many folks find that the 90 - 95 with a 5* drop every week is really more heat than they need, and are able to drop the temp more quickly. It's also important that your brooder be big enough that those chicks can get away from the heat. They should have an area that is about 70 degrees or even less in their brooder. An other mistake that folks often make, is putting them in a brooder that is too small. Ideally, they should have at least 1 s.f./bird, by 2 - 3 weeks, and 2 s.f./bird after that. They'll be ready to move to the coop when they are fully feathered, and have been without that heat lamp for a few days. You can help them feather out faster and wean from the heat lamp by turning it off for a bit every day, and giving them a nice big brooder to play in.

 

[jneerwin]

Okay, thank you!

 

[Corydg]

What color are my new standard cochins going to be? Splash or blue and a gold laced?
Ignore the cute splash silkie or partridge silkie you may see in the background. I ♡ my babies!

Anyone???