When to move to coop????

[HarmonyHen]

Mine went outside to the coop @ 4 weeks but with a heat lamp in a separate enclosure inside the coop. Night temps in the 50s. They are now 7 weeks and heat lamp is only on a few hours at night and they are allowed out of their enclosure, though they have been reluctant to leave the coop for the run yet.

 

[sophiaw00]

My chicks are 6 weeks old. They have been living outside for 2 days now. They love it. Temps get down to high 50s and low 60s during the night. When I check on them in the morning, they are all very happy.

 

[LI chickie]

My girls at so funny. Tonight I went to the coop to lock them in, I shook the mealworm jug and they all came in. Tomorrow will be a week. I don't think it's supposed to get below 50 so I feel good about that.

 

[sbarab]

I want to move my 16 Easter Hatch Along chicks to the coop with my flock. So done with them living in my bathroom at night and going outside in a dog kennel on fair weather days! I'm not worried about the temperature being too low here in Texas. Some of the chicks are definitely roosters. Not sure how they will do with my 3 EE roos in the coop. Thinking of putting them into the coop at night so they all wake up together and make sure there are some hiding places for the chicks that the grown chickens can't fit into.

Anyone done something similar successfully?

 

[Janets Chicks]

If you have an existing flock, you have to make sure they are big enough to not get pecked. I have lost many chicks who I thought were old and big enough. I currently have a group of 6 chicks that are 6.5 weeks old. I had 3 of a smaller breeds (Ancona and Brown Leghorn) get out of their nursery pen and one of them got pecked on her head and neck pretty bad. I did release my 3 larger breeds (New Hampshire Red and RIR) into the flock with the big girls and they are doing fine. I will release the 3 in the nursery once the wounds heal on the one that is injured. Releasing them as a group will be best as well, which is why I will keep 2 with the injured one.

 

[Janets Chicks]

Oh and best to have your nursery pen near or inside your current coop. Then the existing flock has some time to get to know them before they are released.

 

[JRchickchick]

I usually remove the 175 w brooder lamp at 5-6 weeks, and the night time temps stay in the 50's. They have enough big feathers to stay warm enough at night.

Do remember that moving to the coop, and moving to the coop with adult chickens would be two different dates! I wouldn't recommend putting the babies (out of the brooder) in with the grown chickens until they are closer to 12 weeks old (tweenagers) (big enough that a peck on them from a grown-up isn't going to cause serious harm). When you do introduce to the adult chickens, there will be disruption, and pecking order will be established. They don't call it pecking order for nothing!

I think the recommendation is closer to 16 weeks, but I personally don't wait that long as they outgrow their brooder (which does have a roost). The brooder pen is located inside the regular pen, so they see each other all the time, so it isn't as big a change for them when they do become one with the entire flock.

Chick food is also different than layer food.

 

[Cathyge416]

I just moved my chicks out to the coop and run today! They are 7 weeks and definitely fully feathered. We are in the SF Bay Area and night temps are in the 50s? I have full grown hens so I used a folding fence to separate the babies from the ladies - because they eat different food? Not sure how long to keep them separate but they will live next door to each other til then. When would I move the babies up to layer food?

 

[JRchickchick]

Regarding when to move to layer food... at least 16 weeks, hopefully. Sometimes, you don't have much choice!

Find out when your babies will be close to laying. With my Golden Sex Links, and my White Leghorns, they begin laying anywhere from 15 weeks to 18 weeks. You can tell if they are getting close by the color of their comb, turning redder and getting bigger as they get closer to beginning to lay. Some hens don't begin laying until 25 weeks and up...

 

[badchickenhawk]

I agree.I put two 4 week old Sultans in with my adult chickens ( 6 Americana's 1 Silkie )and they cannibalized one chick

. So I'm waiting four more weeks to put the other Sultan back in again.