When to move to coop

[2MChickens]

I’m a first time chick owner, my chicks are a little over 3 weeks old. We have been giving them time outside in a pen for about a week. I live in central Oklahoma and I’m wondering when is the right time to move the chicks to the coop full time? I’ve added the temps for the next 10 days.

 

[azygous]

They can move into the coop now with a little heat at night. Do you have power to your coop? Is it secure from predators, as well as the run?

 

[2MChickens]

They can move into the coop now with a little heat at night. Do you have power to your coop? Is it secure from predators, as well as the run?

Thank you! I can run power to my coop. I feel like it’s pretty secure but there may be more I can do to make sure it is completely secure from predators.

 

[2MChickens]

I have noticed my 25 day old chicks are not sleeping under the heat plate in their coop. They choose to huddle up and sleep in a corner instead.

Would it be okay to remove the heat source, even though temps at night aren’t much warmer than 28 degrees Fahrenheit?

 

[azygous]

They are shunning the heat because they are probably almost completely feathered out and in need of none any longer. This is the normal age when chicks begin avoiding heat. They may be small but they have full down jackets now. They are also probably well acclimatized to the cold night temps or they would be under the heat source. I think you can feel confident removing it or at least turning it off.

If you get a surprise sub-freezing event, you can turn the heat back on in case they wish to use it. By the time they're eight to ten weeks old, they should be reliably ready for any temperature dive.

 

[2MChickens]

They are shunning the heat because they are probably almost completely feathered out and in need of none any longer. This is the normal age when chicks begin avoiding heat. They may be small but they have full down jackets now. They are also probably well acclimatized to the cold night temps or they would be under the heat source. I think you can feel confident removing it or at least turning it off.

If you get a surprise sub-freezing event, you can turn the heat back on in case they wish to use it. By the time they're eight to ten weeks old, they should be reliably ready for any temperature dive.

Thank you very much! I did notice that they were almost completely feathered out, but they still have some down, so I wasn’t sure if they could completely self regulate yet. I appreciate your help!