when can chicks stay out in the coop?

[MyShunshyn]

I have looked all over the site and have found many different answers to my question.
so here are my specifics........

I have 21 chicks that are around 2 1/2 weeks old. They are currently in a brooder in our garage with a light at about 80 degrees.
They spend ALL day out in a small fenced area of their larger run, 18' x 30', but right now do not have access to the coop just food and water.
They spend all day being chickens.
Our weather has been in the high 80's during the day and in the 70's at night.

Should I go ahead and move them out to the coop with a light?

Here is the coop and run.. not covered in this photo but covered now

And here is a pic of one of my babies showing how feathered she is......

I know most say to wait til they are fully feathered but they seem so happy outside....... any thoughts?

 

[chicmom]

Oh, yes! I would move them outside into the coop. They're kind of young, but if you put a light in there for night time, they will be just fine. Just be sure to make sure they're all inside and locked in tight so no predators will get them during the night.

Beautiful setup!

 

[MyShunshyn]

Thanks,

That is one thing I am worried about, they are so little and I worry about them being all alone all night... LOL which is silly cuz they are alone in the garage!

Should I move the brooder out to the coop so that they don't have access to the whole coop yet? or maybe just find a way to fence off an area inside the coop?

 

[hennypenny99]

Wow! Your coop is beautiful! You did a great job! I wish I had taken a pic of mine when it still had grass in it. The chicks took care of that real quick. I moved mine to the coop at about 3 1/2 weeks. I kept a baby gate up in the doorway so they had fresh air and sunshine and I kept a heat lamp in the coop and the ground is covered in pine shavings. They did just fine out there and had alot more room in there than they did in the playpen they were staying in.

 

[MyShunshyn]

Quote:
Thanks! We are pretty proud of it. Do you think that I should let them have the whole run to play in? Or should I keep it small so I can always get them into the coop at night?

The run is secure but I don't want them getting a habit of sleeping outside the coop.

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

Nice set up....why are they not allowed in the coop...but are allowed in the run? Maybe you shouldn't let them have full access to the coop, but a portion of it could be used as the brooder as long as they have access to the necessities.

 

[MyShunshyn]

Quote:
They are allowed in a small fenced area of the run.... As a playpen, so it is easier to collect them at nighty to come in.
I am thinking that I could section off part of the coop so that they are not overwhelmed by the space at first.

We just want to do everything right for them so they will reward us with lots of tasty eggs

 

[stubbornhill]

Your coop and run are beautiful! Very nice job. Any little chicken would be happy to live at your house!

 

[MyShunshyn]

Quote:

all the compliments are AWESOME! THANKS!