When to move from brooder to coop; hard boiled eggs.

[cupman]

Hello I'm a bit new to the chicken thing and I've had my girls for about 5 days, they seem to be doing well in their brooder and growing each day, so my question is when should I move them to my coop? I live just outside Portland, Oregon so it's still a bit cold and rainy this time of year. I know it's going to be awhile before the move but should I take steps to get them more used to the cold weather?

And part 2, hard boiled eggs, I see this quite a bit as a treat people feed to their chickens/chicks but isn't that a little weird? Like I said I'm a bit new, but I guess I was just looking for an explanation as to why hard boiled eggs are so common as a treat. Thanks!

 

[FMAFarms]

Your chicks stay in their brooder until they are fully feathered. This is usually 8 weeks, but sometimes it's as long as 12 weeks. "Your Chickens" by Gail Damerow states that chicks move to their coop at 12 weeks. Without being fully feathered, they are open to catching chills and becoming ex-chickens very quickly.

Boiled eggs (and scrambled eggs) are a treat for chicks because eggs are baby chicken food, just like cow's milk is baby cow food. Yes, we humans eat them, but they were originally intended to nourish the young of the species. Chicks recognize the flavor of the food that nourished them inside the shell and love it. Some folks chop up the whole egg, some only offer the hard-cooked yolk. Mine love scrambled eggs.

 

[smallcitychick]

I live in central washington and it's pretty cold and rainy here right now too (high around 50 today).....I wouldn't move your chicks outside until they're fully feathered. Or you could maybe put them out around 5 or 6 weeks (even if they're not fully feathered) but have a heat lamp available to put in the coops at night if it's getting below 50 by then.

chopped hard boiled eggs are a good treat because they're easily digestable by chicks (it's soft, they don't need grit to eat it) plus they just came from an egg where they were using up the nutrients in there to grow...it's kind of like eating the same thing their bodies were just eating in the shell.

 

[hispoptart]

At what age can you feed them eggs and do they have to have chick grit with the eggs? Sorry if it's a dumb question, I just became a chicky mommy for the first time yesterday.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The do need some acclimation. I keep my brooder in the coop and only keep one area in it at the required temperatures but the rest of the brooder is often 20 to 30 degrees cooler so mine acclimate while in the brooder. Most chicks are fully feathered out around 4 to 5 weeks of age and don't really need supplemental heat after that, but I do provide a draft-free area for them and bedding they can snuggle down in. I don't have any other experience in acclimating them. Until they feather out, they should have supplemental heat or some way to stay warm, but I have never provided extra heat after 5 weeks age.

Many of us have eggs left over. One easy way to get rid of the surplus is to feed them back to the chicks or chickens. At least, that's why I do it.

 

[dewey]

Mine had a lamp at one end of the pen in case they got chilly. I'd lower or raise it depending on the temp. They also had a cardboard box, no lid, set on its side at the other end for them to hide in if they wanted to.

Chickens eating eggs is kinda like fish eating fish eggs. They gobble them up! Mine get meat, too, including chicken, which is really the same as fish eating other fish. Speaking of scambled eggs, my girls had scrambled eggs for lunch today because I dropped some eggs. (I do crushed shells and all and just microwave it for a minute or so if I'm in a hurry.)