When can my chicks go outside?

[chickenalice]

I've got 5 five week old chicks. 3 i think are fully feathered with no more fluff. another one is almost there with a little bit of fluff on her back. and the smallest has feathers everywhere except her head. it's very warm here. 90's during the day and night it is usually around high 70's. so can they go outside yet?

 

[Payette]

We had our chicks outside when they were fully feathered ( I'm not sure how old they were ) but when it started cooling down for the evening, we would get them in the coop with a heat lamp. I think your chicks would be okay, but I'm not positive.

 

[Payette]

By the way,

 

[chickenalice]

Thanks!

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
I have both my meaties and the "little girls" outside. I started them inside but 27 birds is a little much for the living room. Our days are still in the high 90's and today 103. Nights are high 70's. I put them all in the coop at night in deep litter with a light in the corner. During the day they stay in the runs in the shade with plenty of food and water. They will be 3 weeks old this Tuesday and are about 3/4 feathered. They love it out there. They chase ants and other bugs and eat the grit off the ground. They do a lot of dust bathing and running and flying around. They really seem to love it. My runs are completely covered with hardware cloth to protect from predators.

 

[pgpoultry]

Mine are outside (with mum) from day 1, always having access back to their brood coop. I live in Wales which can be pretty chilly at times (40-50 overnight, 60-70 by day currently)

Without mum I would wait until they are fully feathered.


Sandie

 

[llaaadyel]

Hi there:

Very new here. I ordered 6 pekin ducklings a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately none of them made it in shipping, however since there were warming chicks in the box, I did decide to keep one of the little guys. I was actually wondering the same thing. How old do they have to be before they can go outside. My issue is that I live in NY which gets pretty cold in the winter. Any advice would be great.

Thanks

 

[gritsar]

The rule of thumb goes - 90 to 95 the first week, decreasing by 5 degrees a week until such time they are down to 70 degrees (end of week five), at which point they should no longer need supplemental heat.
If your chicks have already been weaned off their heat lamp, they are ready to go out. Just keep them dry and safe from predators and they'll be fine.
The sooner you get them outside, exposed to germs so they develop a healthier immune system, the healthier they'll be.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

Please read my above post. Get them acclimated to natural temps. as soon as possible and they'll be ready for winter.

 

[Lumley Farm]

I just put the chicks outside for about 10 minutes for the first time. Today partly cloudy and cool breeze at 84 degrees. As you see in the video, I thought they were enjoying the sun, but after another minute or two, they started chirping and to me it was like an alarm. I thought the lean to into the debris was stimulation for a dust bath, apparently not. So I took it that they could very well have been over heated. Took them back in side and offered water by holding them up to the container....because I took this time to totally empty the shavings for a cleaning. I'll try again under shade. So they don't have the feathers needed to allow heat to escape is my guess. My first time as a new chick mum! But I really want the best for their immune systems. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NkyBAgDYUjy3BmNQ6