When can I put my chicks out of the house!

[rjrsm]

I live in San Jose, California. The temps have been the 60s (day) and 40s (night). My four chicks are confined to a brooder located in the kitchen. They're about four weeks old. They're getting pretty rowdy and making a lot of dust. Our coop won't be ready for a week. I'd like to put them in the basement during the night with heat lamp. Will this be a problem?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure if you plan on keeping them in the brooder or just let them run wild in the basement. If you provide a heat lamp, they should be fine either way, but your basement may never be the same if you let them run wild.

I keep my brooder in the coop form Day 1 and only provide heat in one small area. The rest of the brooder cools off to whatever ambient is. Last fall, some nights that was in the 40's and 50's. Some people would be surprised how much time four day old chicks spend in the cooler areas of my brooder.