When to move chicks to coop?

[hlf1996]

I have 16 sexlink chicks (black and golden)
and 5 assorted bantams (1 silkie, 3 various
color old English game birds, and a mystery
feather footed bantam) they are all 3 1/2 weeks
old and I have 3 one year old hens and was wondering
how long I need to keep the chicks seperated
from the hens and also how long until the chicks
can go from the brooder to the coop full time?
When it comes time we are going to use chicken
wire to "split" the coop in half until the chicks
can be with the hens

 

[Ridgerunner]

You'll get a whole lot of different answers to this because a whole lot of different things work for us. We all have different circumstances and set-ups. I'll give you a couple of links, the first to another thread that is currently active on this subject and the second to an Article Buff Hooligan's wrote. Buff recommends waiting until 16 weeks. I don't wait that long, but I still think she has excellent advice. I do think the less room you have, the longer you should wait.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=489780

Buff’s Integration
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

Now when can you move them out? I'm not familiar with Silkies, but most chicks are fully feathered out at 4 to 5 weeks old. I raise standard sized dual purpose chickens and never provide supplemental heat longer than 5 weeks. As long as they have an area to go to that is sheltered from drafts (whick is also needed for adult chickens when they roost) they simply do not need supplemental heat. With 16 chicks, I'd think that is enough that they will sleep huddled together and keep each other warm. But I'd wait another week to move them out.