When can my chicks go outside?

[SamanthaJay]

I have almost 4 week old baby barred rocks. We live in western new York so its still a bit chilly outside. I was just wondering when they can go outside with their mamas. Help please!

 

[BarredRockGirls]

if they are fully feathered i wouldnt see why not at least during the mid day . i have almost 3 week old barred rocks and im hoping by 6- 7 weeks they can go in the big coop. and be locked up till 10 weeks . i live in NE OHIO tho and its still spitting snow today

 

[SamanthaJay]

well the snow is coming lightly every day and it melts completely during the day I mean its not COLD out but im still unsure but they smell so we don't want them in the house to much longer

 

[Reurra]

You want night temps to be in the high 40s (F) at night. If you are going to put them outside because you are worried about size and space, you can try giving them deep shavings and a big box to huddle in. I put my girls out in June of last year, it stay cold here most of the spring until then, they were about 9 weeks old if I remember right. Temps dipped as low as the high 30s (F) at night, but they had a nice little cubby and were fully feathered. They also stayed together sleeping.

 

[alenaandtwister]

I actually had the same question but I live in Texas and the night time temps are between 55 and 60 degrees but my chicks dont quite have all their feathers yet and I dont want them to get too cold. I still have the heat lamp on them inside right now...Should I take the lamp off them first to get them used to colder temps before I put them outside.

 

[Reurra]

Thats what I did, I trained them off the light at night. Eventually they got used to not ahving so much warmth.

 

[alenaandtwister]

thanks I will take away their lamp first!

 

[SamanthaJay]

I actually took out the lamp all together already. They are doing good without it. As long as they are inside I don't think that they really need it because its warm already. But right now the temp. here in always going between 20 and 40, it needs to get warmer because they are growing fast. And another question someone might be able to answer for me, the other day we noticed a lump quite large on their chest only on one side, but its on all of them. I don't know what it could be, I turned them everyday 3 times a day. Then they got out all right.

 

[Sabine Ruesga]

I'm new to raising chicks and I'm wondering what "fully feathered" means? I have 7 week old Silkies and 5 week old Red's. We are in southern Oklahoma and the temp at night is in the 40's.

 

[DingyDeb]

About the "lump" only on one side of all of their chests - that is their crop location. This is where they store their food from that day until it becomes digested or ground up to process. They must be getting their food from the ground and it seems like they are eating alot!

So... that "lump" is a good thing!