when did you put your chicks outside?

[blueheaven]

outside...to play and/or in their coop?

 

[Four Acre Bliss]

Outside to play -- as soon as the daytime temps were above 60, for short periods. I think they were about two weeks old.

In the coop -- as soon as they were fully feathered out and nighttime temps were above freezing -- about nine weeks old in our case. This is why I would never raise that many chicks in winter again. Nine weeks is too long.

 

[gritsar]

My chicks were never in the house to start with. I ordered them in the springtime so they could be brooded outside.
Like Bliss, I started taking them out in the yard for playtime around 2 1/2 weeks old.
They were in a draft free shed for their first two weeks and then on the screened porch with their heat lamps after that; until we got their coop finished.

 

[blueheaven]

oh wow...9 weeks. that is a long time.

they are 6 days old. i want to wait a bit longer to take them out...but i think they will love it. it has been windy but 70-80 here the last 3 days. so when the wind settles down...and they get another few days on them, i will take them out.

their feathers are coming in really well on their wings. i keep moving the lamp so it is not too hot and they are happy!
i think i have one that does not like it really hot as she is always furthest away from the heat.

thanks for the info.

 

[valentinebaby]

I took mine out when temps were up to 65 at about 2 1/2 weeks (would have done it sooner, but North Texas got a huge cold snap through most of March and early April). I had read that if you put chicks out sooner, rather than later, they will develop their feathers sooner and it seemed to work in my case.

 

[xadika]

...

 

[CountryPantry]

I put my 10 bigger ones out in their coop when they were 6 weeks old with a lamp. Didn't let them out into the yard for another week, now they are old pros at it and make a terrible noise if you don't open their coop up so that they can get out in the yard. They are still my babies and it is scary watching them out in the big world. I hatched all my eggs in an old Hova Bator that I have used for the last 10 years. It works great still...knock on wood!!!

 

[sben451]

My chicks that hatched out this past week are enjoying daytime hours outside--of course it's a balmy 87 degrees here in NE Alabama today. They are in a large cage inside my pen for my young chickens. In that pen, which is about 10 ft. by 12 ft., I have 6 silkies 6-1/2 wks. old, 9 Buff Orps 5-1/2 wks. old, and the 26-- 5 day old chicks in the 4 ft. long cage. The silkies were hatched by their mom in that pen, and the orps have been outside fulltime for a couple of weeks. They are growing like weeds!!