I just bought 8 chicks, they are about 2 to 3 weeks old. When can I put them out into my chicken coop which will be fenced in. Right now I have them in large tub in my screen in porch.
Will they be alone, or are you mixing with larger chickens? They need to stay under the heat until they're fully feathered so that they can stay warm on their own. If you're in a climate that's still cool at night ( like I am in Maine) you want to wait even longer. "Fully feathered" can depend on the breed and individual chicken-- from 4 to 8 weeks. Quote:
When they are fully feathered -- they can't get really cold or wet (without being dried immediately) when they are still fuzzy. So 6 weeks depending on your birds? You could put them in your enclosed outdoor area to play (assuming you don't have other birds) in the interim -- just a couple of hours will wear them out and they will be happy to come back to your brooder to sleep if you are worried about them being too busy. I have a small grass pen in my yard that I can take down when the chicks are done with it and it's not so big that I can't catch them!
