When do you take your chicks from inside to outside?

[highmountainchick]

Speaking of putting pullets outside, I moved our 17 pullets into a nice new coop last week. This past weekend was great, up in the 70's, I opened their pen door to let them outside for a bit of fresh air... and no one wanted to go outside. They'll go up to the door and look out, but it's like they're saying," No way, I'm staying in here". Is this normal for 6 week old pullets?

 

[ChickenSquat]

put mine out in the coop yesterday with a heat lamp. they are 10 days old and the coop is 8 by 8, 6 feet tall. it was around 35 degrees last night but they seem to be o k this morning. they are pretty tough.

 

[Gindee77]

We're putting our 2 and 3 week olds out today. They will be in a non-drafty shed in a coop, in a corral with heat lamps on them. I have had them in two separate brooders and will keep a chicken wire partition between them for a few days or a week or so, however long it takes for them to get used to each other.

They are all getting too crowded in their brooders. Besides I need one of the brooders for a new batch I MAY be getting on April 30 when the chicks come in at our farm store!

Just what I need...more chicks!!!!

 

[Gindee77]

UPDATE: Well, mine are out and doing great. They are loving being in all that space!! At first they were tentative about moving away from each other but then as they started to relax, they got all puffed up and started acting like they were choosing pecking order all over again (and there were NO new chicks in with either group)!! They were play fighting, jumping in the air, and testing their wings. Look like chick fun to me! The way a couple of them were acting, I'm pretty sure they're roosters... Standing really tall and challenging each other! It was the ones I think are roos anyway! The ones I think are girls were hunkering down and acting meek and mellow. (PleasePleasePlease

)

I'm happy to have them out of the house, it was starting to smell like to a zoo in here, but I miss their cheeping and chirping. I put the baby monitor on my computer desk so I can hear them. Am I pathetic or what??

We sat out there for over an hour with them!! I know where I'll be spending a lot of time in the next few weeks!! Can we say "hair full of pine shavings and chick feed"?

 

[DesertDawg]

I have 4 RIR's in a dog carrier for a brooder in the house and it was starting to smell like a barn. But since we have been putting them out during the day they sleep more at night and don't make so much of a mess. The hens act like they want to peck them so I am worried about when to let them face to face without coop wire between them. I figured they need to be about the same size to hold their own. Anyone know how I can facilitate them liking each other???

 

[lfoose]

I have chicks that are 3 wks old and I too was wondering when to put them outside. Mine aren't 100% feathered yet and it's still getting cool out here

When they are out in the coop segregated from the rest, how long do you want before you can introduce them together with the others?

 

[Oakland_Ranchero]

Our girls are 6 weeks old today and they are still inside. We have a VERY large brooder 7' x 5' and 4' high made of boxes that we assembled together. We are having days in the 60's but nights drop into the low 40's and we don't have power out in the coop. Although they're feathering nicely we think we're going to wait another 2 weeks just so temps are a little more consistent and they have more feathers. If they start pecking each other or getting irritated then we might move them out earlier and run a really long extension cord out there or something. So far they seem pretty happy inside.

 

[morelcabin]

My day olds are coming May 7th! I'm in Northern Ontario Canada and they go straight out to the coop into a 3x5 section with a heat bulb, so yours should be fine to out out anytime