When to remove heat lamp? When to integrate with older chickens?

[dfgkfghggfasd]

2 Questions:

• When do I remove heat lamp?

There seems to be a lot of opinions on this. Depending on where you look people say anywhere between 3-9 weeks old. Anybody got some more accurate advice?

• When to integrate with older chickens?

I have 2 Cochins and a D'uncle (all female) outside. If I remember correctly they are about a year old. My current plan was to release the chicks in the middle of the night around the 1st of June.
Anybody have any advice?

We have a variety of ages in our brooder. The oldest being born born around the 7th of April and the youngest being born around the 18th of April. Some we hatched others we got from a variety of breeders.

 

[SueT]

There are many factors. It depends where you live and how cold or warm it is, what time of year it is, whether they are in your house, or garage, or brooded in the coop. Here, in early spring, I wean chicks off of heat by 3-4 weeks, and move them outside by 5 or 6 weeks.

 

[debid]

There isn't an easy answer. Some of it depends on weather; you remove the heat sooner when it's warm/sunny than when there's snow on the ground. Some depends on numbers as they will sleep cuddled to preserve warmth.

It's always safe to remove the lamp when they have their feathers so this is the typical answer. If you have fast feathering birds, that can be at 4 weeks. Other chicks with delayed feathering may not be covered until much later.

I brood outdoors but I don't use a lamp anymore, I use a heating pad "hen". The last batch moved from heat to roost at 5 weeks exactly when 5:6 were mostly feathered (the last one had pinfeathers on her neck and head). They moved as a flock and it was in the 30s at night. So, odds are you'll heat them more than they NEED but do what makes you comfortable.

 

[bobbi-j]

There are no cut-and-dried answers to your questions. Some more information would be helpful.
Where are your chicks now? How many of them do you have? Are they all currently being housed together? Where are you from (roughly)? What are your day and night time temperatures? How big (in feet by feet) is the coop you plan on integrating them into? Will they be in a run, or free ranged?

What I can tell you is - I would not just release them in the coop in the middle of the night. I can’t see that ending well. I don’t know if you’re hoping the older chickens won’t notice them? They will. Chickens may not appear to be the brightest creatures God created, but they do notice newcomers in the coop. I think you’d have better success if you were able to divide your coop now and put them out there with a heat plate or heating pad brooder so the older ones can get used to them. I think @aart has integrated chicks with great success at about 4-5 weeks, making sure they have a chance to get away from the hens. Hopefully aart will chime in and describe the process.

 

[debid]

As for the toss them in at night approach, I did that once and there was one fatality and two very, very stressed pullets. These weren't chicks, either, one was laying, one was close, the fatality was about 12 weeks. I had to intervene so the two survivors could come down off the roost to eat/drink. It was a disaster I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Instead, I introduce slowly during shared range time. The littles move in after the adults have displayed tolerance of their presence in the shared space and the chicks no longer panic excessively when pecked. It's still stressful but not like that first time.

I had the last batch moved in at about 10 weeks after starting shared (supervised) ranging around 3 weeks. They waited for the adults to go to the roost and then they followed.

 

[dfgkfghggfasd]

To answer some of your questions:

I live in AZ. You can see our weather forecast here: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/scottsdale-az/85251/april-weather/331798
Is there a certain temp. I should not put them outside at?

Currently I have, 12 baby chickens. I'm receiving 3 more in mid-June.
I have 3 chickens outside.

We have a fairly large run and have kept 20+ chickens in it before.
The chickens we have outside have shown little if any signs of aggression towards us.
Plus we many times let them freely range our yard.
Also, they have seen the chicks via a glass window.

Photos:

How do I know if they are fully feathered?

Some have also learned to roost on the bar we put in there.

 

[aart]

This is how I do it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

 

[debid]

To answer some of your questions:

I live in AZ. You can see our weather forecast here: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/scottsdale-az/85251/april-weather/331798
Is there a certain temp. I should not put them outside at?

Currently I have, 12 baby chickens. I'm receiving 3 more in mid-June.
I have 3 chickens outside.

We have a fairly large run and have kept 20+ chickens in it before.
The chickens we have outside have shown little if any signs of aggression towards us.
Plus we many times let them freely range our yard.
Also, they have seen the chicks via a glass window.

Photos:

View attachment 1750565

View attachment 1750566

How do I know if they are fully feathered?

Some have also learned to roost on the bar we put in there.

The chicks are, in your photos, avoiding the heat. They already don't need what is being given. I suspect you're using one of those 250W bulbs. Those were designed to heat 25 chicks in a barn in February, they should not be used in a house without a dimmer. 100W is plenty.

 

[debid]

And how your chickens treat you has zip to do with predicting how they will react to tiny intruders.

Since you have the space, you should knock together a baby shelter that you can install in the run so they can all start getting acquainted. You can leave them in it all day long (providing food/water inside it, of course) and then bring them to the house at night until they finish feathering. They shouldn't need any heat at those temps during daylight hours.

 

[chkva]

My 3 week old chicks are outside with no heat at all. It's 80+ during the day and 60+ at night. If it gets too cold I pour hot water into water bottles and put them under the straw in their coop. The coop gets covered with a quilt at night. They're perfectly warm in the morning. They have their own run that's 6x6x5 that keeps the bigger hens from them. They're loving the outdoors because of all the bugs, dirt, weeds, and grass. They have a waterer and more than one feeder.

I learned all this from a homesteader who's been doing it for 10+ years without a single issue.

If it rains with cooler temps, I'll be putting them inside just so the don't get wet plus cold.