when is a good time to move my baby chicks into their forever home outside

[arnr1530]

i just got my first set of baby chicks they are 2 red pullets that are 3 wks old and have almost all their feathers and 4- 2 wk old bahamas that only have wing feathers currently!! I have not had them outside in the big world yet cause the weather hasnt been very permitting but it will be this wkend and i will be taking them out for a little. i just ordered a chicken coop for them that will be here in two wks. i am wondering if by then they will be ready to go outside in their new home or if they need to stay inside with me until about april when its really warm here thank you

 

[ChickensRDinos]

As soon as they are fully feathered they can move out. Generally around 6 weeks.

Congrats on your new birds! Welcome to BYC.

 

[countrygoddess]

Where do you live and what are the average nighttime temps right now? Regardless, I would say give them a couple to several more weeks inside (I usually move mine out when they are between 6 and 8 weeks old, depending on the weather). Once they are in their new home, I would recommend leaving them in it with the door closed for several days to maybe even a week, so that they can acclimate to the changing day and night temps without any drafts and also so they feel that it is home and will want to return to it at night (even then, you may have to help them at first--my last group of babies huddled under the ramp the first couple of evenings and I had to put them in).

 

[arnr1530]

thank you very much and im glad i joined

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Congrats on your babies. When it is cold out ( under 60 ) I wait until they are 100% feathered before they go out. At that point they can manage their own body temp. For the first few weeks I keep a heat lamp on for them at night and position it where they can choose whether to use it and then begin lowering the size of teh lightbulb until finally eleminating it all together.

 

[arnr1530]

I love in NC our night temps are still pretty low about 35 at night and our highs are upper 50's! their coop wont be here for another 2 wks i figured by the time it got here id wait another wk and put them outside! i did read it was a good idea to keep them in just the coop for a week before letting them in and out should i set up the heat lamp inside until it gets warmer here at nights when they do go in their coop ?

 

[arnr1530]

thank you maidenwolfx80.... my temps here at night wont go up til about the first wk in april

 

[arnr1530]

im sorry im corrected a previous post i live in NC

 

[SunAndDirt]

My understanding is that the chick-level temperature in the brooder should be 95 degrees from hatch to 1 week, 90 degrees for the next week, and so on, reducing 5 degrees each week.
I was planning on moving to the outdoor coop when fully feathered and brooder temp was matching outdoor day temps, then letting them stay in just the coop for a few days/week as described above.

As it stands with my chicks (two weeks old on Monday and 1 week old tomorrow) they are already staying away from the brooder lamp. Subsequently I've dropped them from 90 to 85 today. They are all spreading out along the exterior edges and even digging through the shavings to lay against the kiddie pool floor that is cool as can be! Heck, it's sitting on the concrete basement floor... in February... in New England!
Guess they don't all read the textbooks, so I'm responding to the bird's actions not the numbers.

 

[arnr1530]

thank you