When can I move them?

[bobby d]

Can someone tell me when I can let my chicks go from the brooder to a coop. I have a small coop so the bigger chickens won't hurt them.

 

[ozark hen]

If they are feathered out and not cold where you live then move them to the safe brooder. I have a summer brooder that is framed in one section of the coop and is covered in chicken wire so the flock can see/hear the little ones for a few weeks then I turn them loose with the flock and everyone gets along fine.

 

[debilorrah]

The answer all depends on what you have IN the coop. We have ours set up with a brooder lamp hanging from the barn roof, so if it gets too cold they have a place to go to warm up. If you don't plan on using a brooder light/lamp, then they should be fully feathered - 12 to 14 weeks. Mine out there now are 7 and 10 weeks. And they are loving life with all that dirt and the nice roost, soft bermuda grass........

 

[bobby d]

Great!! Thanks that answer's my question. Our chickies are only 3 weeks old and we have then in their own hutch, in the barn with a lamp at night only. We live in southeast TX and it's getting hot and humid here now. This is our first hatch so we're kinda new at this. Thanks again for your help!!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Debi, I have never heard of chicks taking 12 to 14 weeks to feather out. Six weeks more like it.
To the OP - you are about six hours south of us. I checked with weather.com and it looks like you are a tad bit warmer than we are this time of year, with your highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s. About this time of year I've had five week old chicks living in a draft free brooder on our screened porch with a heat lamp on only at night. You don't mention how old your chicks are, but I'd say five to six weeks old, in a draft free coop.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Debi, I have never heard of chicks taking 12 to 14 weeks to feather out. Six weeks more like it.
To the OP - you are about six hours south of us. I checked with weather.com and it looks like you are a tad bit warmer than we are this time of year, with your highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s. About this time of year I've had five week old chicks living in a draft free brooder on our screened porch with a heat lamp on only at night. You don't mention how old your chicks are, but I'd say five to six weeks old, in a draft free coop.

Really?? My 10 weeks olds still have down under the wings! I have always known I had weird, strange and "special" chickens. I have 7 weeks olds that barely have their wing feathers. Elmer (the glued in chick so she has a reason to be bald) and Gimpy my banty cochin.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Debi, I have never heard of chicks taking 12 to 14 weeks to feather out. Six weeks more like it.
To the OP - you are about six hours south of us. I checked with weather.com and it looks like you are a tad bit warmer than we are this time of year, with your highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s. About this time of year I've had five week old chicks living in a draft free brooder on our screened porch with a heat lamp on only at night. You don't mention how old your chicks are, but I'd say five to six weeks old, in a draft free coop.

Really?? My 10 weeks olds still have down under the wings! I have always known I had weird, strange and "special" chickens. I have 7 weeks olds that barely have their wing feathers. Elmer (the glued in chick so she has a reason to be bald) and Gimpy my banty cochin.

I've found that the faster you can "harden them off", i.e., take away their heat lamp, the faster they feather in. Mother Nature has a way of taking care of her own and will give them feathers if feathers are what they need. Leave them under a heatlamp longer than is necessary and they'll feather out slower.
To illustrate, these chicks are five and a half weeks old:

This one is around 7 weeks old:

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Really?? My 10 weeks olds still have down under the wings! I have always known I had weird, strange and "special" chickens. I have 7 weeks olds that barely have their wing feathers. Elmer (the glued in chick so she has a reason to be bald) and Gimpy my banty cochin.

I've found that the faster you can "harden them off", i.e., take away their heat lamp, the faster they feather in. Mother Nature has a way of taking care of her own and will give them feathers if feathers are what they need. Leave them under a heatlamp longer than is necessary and they'll feather out slower.
To illustrate, these chicks are five and a half weeks old:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff69/gritsar/buffhr2.jpg

This one is around 7 weeks old:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff69/gritsar/pulleteight002.jpg

You are right! The ones that are out in the coop now are feathering faster. I think that our odd weather, ie: 85 one day, practically snowing the next, is interferring. That is why we have the lamp out there. We had snow last week, and today was 85, with colder weather predicted later this week!!!!

 

[adeechickluv]

Mine are 4-6 weeks old. The weather is still being iffy ... 40 degrees at night and 50-60 degrees. And rainy. Really, really rainy. I'm going to get them off their heat lamp gradually, waiting desperatly for the weather to hurry up and warm up ...