When can chicks go outside?

[tobit]

One died after it had dried, no idea how - stone cold outside the nest (a cardboard box with straw on the GROUND) the other was an egg that was under the straw as the broody messed the whole net up after 2 had hatched and must have partly hatched or not at all and been squashed my first hatch, and also the broody's first hatch so on a steep learning curve!

 

[chickndoglover]

Perfect question, I was just going to ask the same thing and I also live on Vancouver Island ,BC

 

[nursefarfar]

Well I learned a hard lesson yesterday. We are in the cowichan valley and I put my 6 week old chicks outside. During the day only. It was enough that I lost one of them. The other one seems fine. But so sad to loose my blue ameracauna. Will wait a few more weeks until I try again. My 9 week old chicks are doing great outside. In a coop under my sundeck.

 

[tobit]

How did you "lose" it??

 

[nursefarfar]

I was at work all day and my husband put them out under the deck. He brought them in around 2 and said that one was just standing still all puffed up. It stayed that way all day and through the night even being inside out kitchen. The next morning it looked the same, wouldn't move even when I picked it up. The other one was running around just fine. I spoke to the person that I got them from and she said it is too cold for them to go outside and that it probably caught a respiratory illness. I kept her under a heat lamp in her own brooder for 2 more days. On the last day she was no longer standing, just laying down. She wasn't eating or drinking so I picked her up to put some water in her mouth with a dropper and after a few drops which she drank her head dropped down and she stopped breathing. I don't know if I will ever really know what it was. The other one was fine in the outdoors and also was in the same brooder for a day after she was sick so I would think she would have caught the same illness, if it was an illness.
Not sure, but we are keeping them all in the house for a few more weeks.

 

[tobit]

Ah im sorry for your loss. I have 2 little 1 week old chicks that have been out and about with their mum since day 2 for increasing periods of time - until they go and snuggle under their mum!

 

[fancypantsfarm]

Chicks should not go outside until at least 8 weeks of age! While weather is a factor, more important is the fact that they have not built up an immunity to resist coccidia and other parasite illnesses. Young birds are very vulnerable to predators, parasites, yellow jackets....keep them inside until 8 wks!

 

[Murs]

I had the same question. I have 3 chicks with their momma. They are inside the coop and the coop is enclosed in chain link and hardware cloth. The coop is always open and there is a ramp down. The opening is about 2 feet off the ground.

The chicks were born last Saturday and are pretty active they are 5 days old now. There's food and water in the coop. I was also wondering when the mom would take them outside. It's warm here. Was about 85 today and low is about 65.

There are no other chickens inside the enclosure. I have one other hen but she is literally in the dog house since she killed one chick when it hatched.

Do I wait and let the hen lead them out or should I provide motivation by putting the food and water outside?

 

[Bean789]

I am such a worry wart when it comes to my babies. My first batch, now 21 weeks old, are out in their coop but never went outside permanently until they were 9 weeks old, this past June, in Central Florida area. Yep, it took me that long in super nice warm weather to finally allow them outside over night.

Now , my 2nd batch, are 7 weeks old, and they are outside during the day and inside during the night in their brooder, which is overly crowded with all of them in there. There are 6 chicks with one being a Silkie bantam. There are also 4 guineas that I need to get trained to go in/out of the coop along with the rest of their coop mates.

But the temps here now are dropping to the mid 70's in the evenings and it is raining a lot so I am still hesitant about putting out on their own. Silly me.

 

[gander007]

Most of mine are hatched outside in a nest and spend the rest of their life in this environment but your question in when to put them out side and my answer is when fully feathered and can be with the other chickens while roosting and you can have more then one roosting spot and I believe I have chickens roosting all the way around my house and any high spots they can find where it is safe from predators .........