When can I move my chicks outside??

[Sugroxz]

I am curious at what age can you move your chicks to and outside coop??? Mine are just now starting to get feathers everywhere... I have them in my house under a heat light and they are starting to escape out of their pens... LOL I don't want to take any risk of loosing any of them.. I want to make sure they are ready to go outside before I just place them out there.. Any thoughts would be appreicated!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have no idea what state or even country Pleasant Hope is in, so I have no idea what your climate is like. It is a pretty name though.

I put my brooder in the coop from Day 1, making it large enough (3' x 5') that I can keep one area in the correct temperature range but letting the far corners cool off quite a bit more, often 20 to 30 degrees. They are playing in the far corners by Day 3, coming back to the heat to warm up occasionally.

My chicks are normally fully feathered out by around 4 to 5 weeks. Depending a bit on weather and how they look, I remove all supplemental heat and the brooder by 4-1/2 to 5 weeks. I keep them in a coop or area that is very well protected against drafts and they have nice bedding to snuggle in, but I have yet to lose any with this process. I do not integrate them at this age, but definitely take away the heat.

So when can you take them to the coop and out of the brooder? It can depend on your climate and the breeds since not all breeds feather out the same, but for most dual purpose breeds, around 4-1/2 to 5 weeks.

Good luck!