When can I move them to coop?

[jmtcmkb]

I thought I had it all figured out from reading, but would appreciate some advice. My chicks are 3 1/2 weeks being brooded indoors with the heat source an ecoglow. I live in New England where temps are all over the place on any given day. At what age do you think it will be okay to put them in the outdoor coop? I will be bringing the ecoglow into coop as a place for them to go for heat.

Do I need to wait until they are fully feathered, that seems to be around 8 weeks? They are clearly on all different schedules as far as that is concerned. I have 5 chicks, the 2 red stars seem far behind in feathering compared to the BO, BA and Dominique.

 

[SillyChicken]

Me personally, I'd wait till the youngest one is fully feathered.

 

[Chemguy]

Quote:
Ditto. Once they're feathered, they can regulate temperature. Mine were fully feathered at about 5 weeks. Then, I moved them to the coop but kept them inside it for a while, out of drafts but still at outdoor temperatures. They were let out of the coop 2 weeks later, and they know where home is now, go back in each night.

 

[Fred's Hens]

6 weeks is an average. What you do during week 6 is get them acclimated to lower temps. If the indoor room is 65F, that is likely much warmer than the coop is going to be. So, that last week, week 6, is the week you stop giving them as much warmth. With the lamp system, you lower the wattage, or raise the lamp to produce less heat. With your style, you can still put it up on blocks, I suppose, to accomplish the same thing.

During week six, you might also turn off your heater during the day, only providing "some" additional heat at night.

If you have an adjust control, or by raising the heater higher and higher, you can reduce the heat output. Chicks need a week of transition before being put out to 30 and 40 degree temperature, even if fully feathered, even if 7 weeks old. All warm blooded creatures, even humans, can only acclimate so quickly to a dramatic temperature change.

 

[jmtcmkb]

Thank you all for the specific advice. They are getting so big and I cant imagine 4 more weeks them staying indoors!

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I had mine in the coop with a heatlamp from day 1. They are 4 1/2 weeks old now and are feathering out fast. The temp in the coop was 68 degrees this morning at 4:30 am when I opened the hatch for them to go out later. They were not huddled together, some had moved out from under the lamp and two were actually on a roost! They were annoyed with me for opening the hatch and waking them up.

Next week I am going to switch off the heatlamp during the day and switch to a 50 watt red bulb during the night (I have a 150 watt one in the lamp right now).

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Ha ha. This is precisely why I brood in the garage or in the barn.

Brooding in the house isn't for us.

 

[partsRheavy]

Little tiny fuzzies inside yes....but 3-5 week old rowdies no......

The 3-8 week olds are in their own cage with a brooder lamp not in the main chicken coop though..

 

[jmtcmkb]

Quote:
They are my first so the coop is all thiers, I was thinking that would be the same as a garage or barn, but maybe I am wrong..

 

[Fred's Hens]

As long as you keep the heat circle at the temp they require, ie, 80-85 degrees? You are golden. House, barn, garage, coop, it doesn't matter.