Hello, we are raising some chicks for a friend of ours. They are 6 wks old and we have them in a 8x10 coop. We have not let them start to free range by themselves yet. Question is when should I let my friend take hers home. They do not have a coop that they can be locked up in a night so they would be free range all the time. Are they still to small to go or should we let them have them? Thanks
They need a coop at night for protection against the elements and predators. Tell your friend she can take them home when she gets shelter for them. A chicken tractor is pretty easy and cheap to build.
Just my personal opinion here, I'd never let my chicks go to someone who doesn't have some type of shelter for them.
Thanks, I was thinking the same thing. They have shelter but its like a shed with no doors. So I just didn't think it would be safe for them, I will tell her it will be a few mo. before they can go. They currently have three chickens in another pen and the chicks can not go in with them. Mabey she can figure out a way to put a door or something on the shed that they have. Thank You
It wouldn't take much to divide her shed into two compartments with chicken wire but it would need doors. She really should keep them inside at night. It's scary the damage one raccoon can do in one night! We lost a whole flock to a coon and they were locked up in a secure (we thought!) coop. The coon chewed thru the drop down chicken door. We built a tractor with just a small amount of cheap lumber (2X4 studs @ $1.79 each), some hardware cloth and some scraps of that particle board type plywood. It didn't even cost $20 to build and paint and it took one afternoon. Here's what it looks like...
I totally agree with the other posters. I live in a neighborhood with no way for dogs to get in my yard, but I still lock my girls up tighter than can be every night.