When can my RIR chicks go out?

[highpointfarm]

Hi everyone, I have 15 RIR chicks, there are now 4 weeks old, and nearly completley feathered out... Highs are in the fifties and lows in the 30's...... I am wondering when i will be able to let them out... (yes i know they were hatched way to early but it was a birthday present from my grandmother)

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/port-jervis-ny/12771/daily-weather-forecast/339741
This is a link to our weather...
The next few days will be extremely warm, but we live in upstate NY so if any of you know what the weather is like their......

Or if possibly anyone has any ideas about giving them more space inside, their rubbermaid rub is getting smaller by the day....

 

[ceeceeholt]

I put mine out yesterday, but I live in Alabama. Put a light in the coop and they had a great night with lows in the 40's. Woke up this morning and everyone was great. Good luck to you!

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Tough call. If you're planning on keeping them confined to the hen house for the first week then you will probably be okay. When I put mine out I always keep them locked up in the house portion of the coop so they can recognize it as home and so they have a week of acclimating to changing temps. You could always buy a second rubbermaid container and split them up for more room.

 

[highpointfarm]

Tough call. If you're planning on keeping them confined to the hen house for the first week then you will probably be okay. When I put mine out I always keep them locked up in the house portion of the coop so they can recognize it as home and so they have a week of acclimating to changing temps. You could always buy a second rubbermaid container and split them up for more room.

Im worried that if i do that after them growing together for so long that when i join them together, along with the rest of my flock it could be violent...

 

[Kaseykeepstrack]

I'm in the same position. My 7 were hatched on Feb 8 and they are running out of space in the largest rubbermaid bin I have. I am going to put them in the coop (locked up inside) this week (at 5 weeks old), with brooder lights. They are almost fully feathered.

 

[homeschoolchick]

Im worried that if i do that after them growing together for so long that when i join them together, along with the rest of my flock it could be violent...

I have seen people cut an opening in the sides of the rubbermaid tubs and tape them together to have more room.

 

[mamaluvschick]

Yes, I am having the same problem. Mine are about 5 wks old and I am going to put them in the coop tonight. They will stay in there box, in the coop, at night and when all big girls go out in the morning I will let them have the run of the coop. I hope its not to early also. I live in CO, and our temp. are at 70 today, but its CO and we could still have some massive snow storms. Would like to know what you all choose to do with yours, in or out?

 

[LaynaDon95]

Hi everyone, I have 15 RIR chicks, there are now 4 weeks old, and nearly completley feathered out... Highs are in the fifties and lows in the 30's...... I am wondering when i will be able to let them out... (yes i know they were hatched way to early but it was a birthday present from my grandmother)

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/port-jervis-ny/12771/daily-weather-forecast/339741
This is a link to our weather...
The next few days will be extremely warm, but we live in upstate NY so if any of you know what the weather is like their......

Or if possibly anyone has any ideas about giving them more space inside, their rubbermaid rub is getting smaller by the day....

Could you dedicate a smallish corner of the coop to a temporary outdoor "brooder"? Does your coop have access to electricity? If you can separate them from the big girls by wire, then they can see each other and get used to each other, without even having the chance to be violent. It will make adding them to the flock much easier. If you put a heat lamp out there then you won't have to worry about cold nights.

If you can't do that, then you will have to upsize your brooder for another 2-3 weeks. Homeschoolchick's suggestion is a common way to solve this problem. You could also use a big cardboard box, a kitty pool, etc. I would discourage separating them from each other. They will forget each other and it will probably be violent when you re-introduce them. (like you said. I'm just agreeing with you)

I have some 3 and 4 week olds out in my coop right now. They have a 250 watt heatlamp and a part of the coop dedicated to them so they can have shelter from the big girls. (Which reminds me, the hens will want somewhere to sleep tonight, so I might want to lock the babies back up and let them have their coop again...) Granted, I live in Texas where the night are considerably warmer, but it did get into the 40's and they were okay. If they have an adequate source of warmth and protection from the older birds, then they will be fine in your coop, even during cold nights.

 

[crchickens]

We built a much bigger brooder this weekend for ours, because we want to keep them inside. We more then doubled their space, so they can stay inside for three or four more weeks. We are lucky to have a heated garage to keep them in, and have enough room. We are in the midwest, and cold today, but we will be super warm, almost 80 this coming week.

 

[highpointfarm]

We actually have a smaller separate coop for little ones, (A frame with attached run) what we are going to do is put a heat lamp in there and just let them out and see what happens will post pictures later today.........