when to safely move chicks outdoors?

[friedkitty]

We got our chicks at the feed store, and have had them for 3 weeks, so I'm assuming they are about 4 now. We have 15 of them in a small brooder (about 6 square feet) so they have obviously outgrown it. We let them out in a pack&play in the living room for a few hours a day, and they don't seem stressed or anything, but I know I need to get them into a bigger home. I am working on their coop, but it is a bit by bit process as I am building it from recovered/recycled materials from an old dilapidated house on our property, and I am limited on available time to work on it. My question is, once I get it built (hopefully within the next week 2 at the most), can I safely move them outside, or do I need to find a larger home indoors for them? I live in the south, and the cold weather should be over for now, but it is still in the 60's at night occasionally. Could I keep them in the coop with the lamp on out there, or would that not be enough? I haven't had chickens since I was about 8, so I remember very little about it.

 

[JulieNKC]

I moved my silkies outside in December when they were 8 weeks old in the midwest. All are alive and well still, lol. As long as they are fully feathered they should be fine. If you have a lamp on them turn it off, and a week or so before moving them out put them in a garage or somewhere cooler to wean them off the heat if you want. It was 20-30 degrees when I put my girls out, I brought them inside at night for the first week until I was sure they were doing ok.

 

[friedkitty]

They are about half feathered right now, still in that gawky/cute "teenage" stage. I don't know if they will be FULLY feathered in 2 weeks, but they will be really close. I have 2 (one new Hampshire red, and one black sex-linked) that seem to be growing their feathers in faster than the others, but I'm hoping that with the light in the coop, it will be warm enough. I just don't want them to get stressed and am unsure which is worse, the coop, or the overcrowded brooder..