When can I move my chicks outside

joyful-homemaker

Songster
12 Years
Jul 11, 2007
105
1
129
central ohio
I have 5 and 6 weeks old chicks in a brooder in the garage. They have just started to peck at each other today, so I am thinking they are overcrowded. There are 27 of them. I never worried about moving chicks outside before, but I have never raised babies this time of year. It is cold (30's and 40's) at nite and doesnt get up to 70 durring the day. I do have a coup for them and heat lamps, but I am worried it is too soon.

joyful homemaker
 
If they are feathered the are fine. I would keep the heat lamps on and if they are huddled up beneath it all the time then maybe it is too cold for them. If they don't then they will be fine.
 
Mine were 5 1/2 weeks when I moved them outside. I have a mini coop for them, and I've got a 50W IR in it, on a timer. This weekend we had cold rainy weather so I also hung a 250W IR in the run, so they could still come out. They seem to be doing fine.
 
Mine were outside full time at 8 weeks. The coop does not have a heater. I checked on them the first couple of nights, but there were protesting my flashlight more than the cold. It got into the 50's at night.

Before that I got them from a lady who had them outside from when they were about 1 month. They ran in the outside pen during the day and went into a coop with a large open door at night.

I had another that I started talking outside at 3-4 weeks (she had most of her wing feathers and her back feathers were just coming in) during the day and then would bring her back in the brooder at night. She was the youngest and just wanted to be with the other older girls. She was thriving, growing well and holding her own against the others who were a couple weeks older.

I think if you put them out during the day in a larger space they will peck each other less when you put them in at night. Mine just went straight to bed.
 
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Joyful, my chicks started out in a shed from day one. Of course they had heat lamps. It was early April.
Baby chicks don't have to start out living in the house, not if you've got a predator-proof coop that you can keep to the proper temperature.
 

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