When can my chicks go outside?

[Sheldonfamily]

does anybody know how to tell whether leghorns are male or female without sticking their finger anywhere I also need to know before the cones are my chicks are anywhere between four and six weeks my husband believes we have two males and female my frnd believe that we have 1 male and 2 females my husband and I have no experience raising chicks as far as chickens go the only thing I did was clean out the coop and collect the eggs that is definitely been an experience my husband told my kids to name the chickens after food so my daughter names one bacon the other one shrimp and my son name the other one steak didn't quite get the concept of what he meant.

 

[lacymorgan]

I have no idea how old my chickens are we got him from a family farm and home place working I believe I have one chick that is seems to be fully feathered one chick that has a little bit of baby feathers on its head then I've got another one he's got baby feathers on its head and almost halfway down its back the chicks are starting to make me sick apparently I have a chicken feather allergy I need to know when is the absolute soonest I can put them out with out a heat lamp and nobody told me that baby chicks can smell like rotten meat oh my goodness but I'm still loving it so is my daughter

What are you using in the box or cage you have them in. I have had up to 30 in my box with no rotten smell. I keep pine shavings in it and the feed silo is in a box to keep the food from being scattered everywhere.

 

[silarajc]

Does anybody have a nice temperature to age scale for letting your chicks have outside play time? Like 60 degrees minimum for 4 week old chicks to have an outing? Or should I just go by recommended brooder temperature? Right now it is getting in the 50's most days, but next week is supposed to be upper 60's, lower 70's. My chicks are about 10 days old, and I just would like them to be outside for an hour or so.

And anybody have good ideas for transporting 27 chicks outside???

 

[lazy gardener]

Mama broody often has her babies outside by the time they are 2 days old. Take them outside for increasing lengths of time, and take your cue from their behavior. I take my babies out within the first week, and usually brood them in a grow out coop. No heat lamp. Just a heating pad brooder. They are playing outside at 40* by the time they are 10 - 14 days old.

 

[silarajc]

Awesome, maybe we'll take them out this weekend for a bit and see how it goes.

I have a utility wagon - thinking of putting cardboard walls and floor on it with a mesh lid to transport them to their playground...

 

[Shuttergirl]

What do you mean, the feed silo is in a box? My chicks are wasting ssooooo much food!

 

[davidmorrow]

hi sorry to jump in with question but does this apply if they have a mummy. I live in England and right now it is cold and wet see days. Mine go out in the day with their mum and have done since one week old. They have never had a heat lamp. I hope they will be ok.

 

[davidmorrow]

How did u get on with your chicks ..im in the UK too

 

[alexa009]

I put my girls outside at 6 or 7 weeks. Now they are 9 weeks and still getting along with the outdoors great! The only thing is, i am also in texas and it doesn't get any lower than 60 degrees here.

 

[Laura Gerrard]

Okay I am new to this and I thought I could keep my chicks in longer but I have lost my brain. I have 12 chicks all different ages. They range from 1+ week to about 3+. I have a mix of kinds too. BO (1), EE (4), Black sexlinks (2), Barred Rock (2), Jersey giant (1), Legorn (1) and oh boy I'm missing one. Poor thing!!! I currently have them in a big tub but I built a brooder looks like a rabbit hutch that is 4X2 (inside) and 30" high in front and 24" in back. I had planned putting it in my furnace room. We run a pellet stove and don't run the furnace. I have a heat lamp for them. It is in the 40-50s in that room. I am in Utah and it is still quite cold at night (20-30).

My question is....can I put the brooder outside with the heat lamp or do I need to keep them inside longer? I have a 125W bulb currently. My husband is worried about the furnace room and my kids. The furnaces (2) are open. currently the tub doesn't interfere with the furnaces. With the brooder, it will be closer to the electricity. So I'm trying to find a better home. I was thinking on my front porch facing the house so the wind doesn't blow in. OR is that just too much "draft" for the young ones? I'm worried about pecking when I put them back together if I separate them. Right now they all get along. What would you do? Are they too young to be outside in the hutch/brooder even with a heat lamp? I suppose I can put it in the garage but it is really cramped and is often cooler than outside (strange I know) but it is all cement (3 sides).

Shelley (a newbie!!)

***I tried to post a link to my blog that has my hutch picture but I'm apparently too new. So picture a hutch with a wire front and door. It stands 42" high in front and 36" high in back. Internal is 48X24

Hi I'm in California where it's been between 40 to 50 at night and I keep mine in my garage at night with a Ge light bulb 100 watt (a women who raised chickens her whole life swore by the GE bulbs they considered her the chicken whisperer after raising them for 47 years)and then turn them outside in their outside pen during the day. I hope that helps