when should I put my birds outside?

[cluckmecoop7]

Hi all,

I was wondering when I should put my chicks outside. They are about a week old right now so I am not to worried...yet. I know they have to be fully feathered which is about 6 weeks, right?

I want to get them out as soon as possible but I just don't want to put them out to soon.

Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Depends on your temperatures but yes as a general rule once they have most of their adult feathers they should be good to go.

 

[solidsnake]

If your weather is nice they can be coop ready before they're fully feathered. My girls were ~3 weeks old when I put them in their coop, but this was in summer when the temperature at night would be 85°F and day time would be up to 100°F, very hot! We didn't have aircon inside so they wouldn't have been any cooler indoors, and that's why we just put them outside early it would've been the same.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Thanks both!

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

What kind of weather do you have? You can put them out at 6 weeks usually if it's not too cold.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I have winter and summer. Summer is about 3 months of the year and winter 6. For me it is the end of winter....march.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

It totally depends on your setup. For example, if you have the ability to have electricity in your outdoor set up, chicks can actually go outside right from day one.
I brood in coop, using a mama heat pad.....chicks self wean from heat starting at about 3 weeks (also when they start integrating to adult flock) and are off heat and fully integrated by 4 weeks.....in outdoor temps that run below freezing.

 

[Mrs. K]

In the house, make sure you have a cold spot and a warm spot and enough space so the chicks can move from one to the other. If you don't have snow cover, take them outside every day for a little while. Sunshine and fresh air are important for their health. They can take some cold, as long as they can get out of the wind, and a place to warm back up.

Climbing over grass is good exercise for them. Pecking and scratching in real dirt is good from them. If you have a flock, bring in some of their dirt, and put it into the brooder.

People tend to think, heat lamp 24-7. That the temperature needs to be constant. That healthy chicks are very delicate. And often nearly kill them with kindness. Chicks raised by a broody hen are outside within a week. Getting lots of exercise, fresher and learning a lot more than chicks kept in a very small brooder.

Mrs K

 

[cluckmecoop7]

In the house, make sure you have a cold spot and a warm spot and enough space so the chicks can move from one to the other. If you don't have snow cover, take them outside every day for a little while. Sunshine and fresh air are important for their health. They can take some cold, as long as they can get out of the wind, and a place to warm back up.

Climbing over grass is good exercise for them. Pecking and scratching in real dirt is good from them. If you have a flock, bring in some of their dirt, and put it into the brooder.

People tend to think, heat lamp 24-7. That the temperature needs to be constant. That healthy chicks are very delicate. And often nearly kill them with kindness. Chicks raised by a broody hen are outside within a week. Getting lots of exercise, fresher and learning a lot more than chicks kept in a very small brooder.

Mrs K

Thanks for all the info! But here, there is still a lot of snow on the ground...anything I can do?

 

[Mrs. K]

Me too, a lot of snow, and more coming. Even so, if you can scrape off a place, and let them have a recess in a bigger space outside, not hours and hours, but a recess.

Course, I am imagining what your brooder looks like, but many are very small as chicks are small. I do know they grow better feathers if they are not kept too warm, they need fresh air and exercise to be come really strong.

However, a lot of chicks have been raised just fine, indoors or in a garage under a heat lamp for weeks.

Mrs K