Baby chick (ens) !!?

Question

One week old already, and how they have grown :)!

What I need to know is: when can I put them outside on the grass to walk around? I would not leave them alone as I know cats,fox, hawks etc. can "get'm."

Also when can they go outside for good. Its 80 degrees today with 90% humidity. Nights go down to 60ish. (long Island, NY).

About 5 years ago my brother showed up with a half dozen for me, but they were older already, so newborn chicks are new to me.

I have 15 mixed brown egg layers chicks and 1 white crested black polish. My daughter named her "Pom Pom" for the obvious reason.( Split the minimum 25 with a friend) Ordered them from Mc Murrays. Healthy as can be. Very pleased with their condition upon delivery. Thanks.

Answer 1

The other book I would recommend is The Chicken Health Handbook. You don't want to be waiting around here for a good answer while you are panicking about some illness your bird has.

I raise about 300 chickens a year. None of them go outside until they are 8 weeks old. By that time they are fully feathered and have good weight on them. Are you feeding medicated chick starter? They need the amprolium in it to build up a resistance to coccidiosis (which is everywhere) before you "put them on the ground." Keep them on it until they are 6 months old (when one of them lays an egg).

(mine are on the ground, but inside the barn, sheltered from drafts, with a light if they want it.)

Answer 2

Storey's guide to raising chickens is a great book for future reference. But since you need advice now the book says that the chick's body can not regulate it's temp until about 20 days old when the down starts to give away to feathers. Until then the chicks need the light day and night. If they are not hanging around under the lamp you can start moving it up.

You are right they grow fast ours are 9 weeks old and people ask us why they aren't laying. LOL I would say they weigh a pound and a half to 2 pounds. We bought only pullets but when they were about 4 weeks old we could tell of the 25 chicks we bought we had 3 roosters.

Are you going to free range or have a chicken yard?