What age do I put chickens in outdoor coop?

[E.Soderstrom]

I am brand new to chickens, and recently purchased 11 chicks to include,3 RIR, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 4 Barred rocks, and 1 Silver Laced Wyndotte. They are about 3-4 weeks old an starting to get feathered out. I live in Washington and built a large coop 8'x8' with plenty of ventilation. Can someone tell me approx what age to move the birds from the garage to the outdoor coop? I am gradually cooling the brooder box but I have never done this before and want to get them to their coop as soon as possible. It is about 45 degree during the day right now.

 

[tygrysek75]

Hi there I had put mine at 9 weeks ,temperatures during day around 15C and at night often around 5C.I have 5 of them nicely snugled together.Last year when I had my chicks during summer they went to the cop at 5 weeks.

 

[Marigold]

Hi there, and welcome to the Forum.

Do you mean 45 degrees Fahrenheit? If so, that's still pretty cold I would think, and would be lower at night. It would be best to wait a week or two until they are better feathered up and more able to keep warm. Also, if you could give them an electric hen in the coop at night, and plenty of warm bedding to snuggle into of course, it would help them for the first week or so outside. It's just not worth risking them getting cold at this stage, not feeding so well because cold and huddled together, and generally getting stressed and possibly even ill.
Does your coop have a run attached? If so, they will need to be kept dry when out in the run for the first few weeks as if they are rained on they will get chilled. Maybe a sheet of clear tarpaulin or plastic fixed over the roof would do the trick. They do need top be able to get out into the light during the day, you couldn't keep them shut up in a coop, but this needs to be in a sheltered place out of the wind and weather. The actual age in weeks that you can put them out very much depends on the temperature and the weather where you live, and may vary from day to day of course - or even you might have a setback when you thought spring had come and it starts to snow again!

 

[chrismahon]

Hi E.S. We all try to get them out as soon as possible because of the mess. But too soon without heat, they get ill and die overnight. In Spring here at 6 weeks, in Summer as Tygresek says could be 4 weeks. In Winter they perhaps wouldn't go out at all. With a temperature in the daytime of 65 degrees I'd say 6 weeks old. At 45 degrees, which is our Winter temperature, I'd say 20 weeks old. So I guess you may have another 6 weeks to go, but it all depends on your outside temperatures. If they are cold their development will be held back and they will lay later, assuming you have some hens amongst them. Some of our Buff Orps didn't show sex until 20 weeks.

 

[E.Soderstrom]

Thank you all for the prompt feedback. I did mean 45 degrees F. My coop does have a run to keep them dry, but it is still in the 30's F at night. I will wait until the 8 week mark and then re-evaluate. I am just concerned about them being in the brooder box (3 ft by about 2ft) and beating each other up. They seem to be doing fine now and all getting along but like I said, I am new. Thank you again.

 

[chrismahon]

Yes E.S. That's the next problem. That box is far too small and will need to be 4 x that size by the time they go out. Feather pecking starts first and its all downhill from there!

 

[Chuck]

Problem at the moment is night time temps as it is barely above feezing here. Any chilling of the chicks can set them back severely and lead to ilness. Your indoor box is too small. You could try then out in the day and in at night in another couple of weeks, then pad the external house up with hay which is an old fashioned way of keeping them warm.