When is it ok to move out?

[EvieHeartBears]

So I have read through several threads and I'm still not sure about how old the chicks should be before I move them outside. They are about 9 days old now, and currently living in the house. They are in a storage tub with a heat lamp.

I live in upstate new york, right now the highs are in the 60s/70s and lows in the 50s. We are currently building a coop for them but can they just play outside in the sun right now?

Thanks in advance.

 

[azygous]

I usually begin taking my chicks outdoors on nice days when they reach two weeks. They can handle brief outings away from their heat source on a windless 70F day.

I load them into a cat carrier and open it up out in the yard or run. They will slowly come out and explore. When they begin to chill they will go back inside the carrier and huddle together. That is you cue to bring them back inside and place them under their heat source.

However, chicks can safely be brooded outdoors in a safe, secure run or coop. As long as they have a reliable heat source, they can tolerate temperatures below freezing quite splendidly. In fact, being exposed to cooler ambient temps is quite beneficial in helping them to feather out faster and to become cold hardened much sooner.

I have an article you may be interested in reading about outdoor brooding. It's linked below under "Articles".