For those of you who purchased new chicks this spring it’s important to know when and how to move them from the safety of their indoor brooder to the brave new world of the great outdoors. As they get older you’ll want to begin bringing them outside to play, get a little exercise and learn how to forage. It’s safe to begin bringing them outside when they’re about 4 weeks old but only on nice days (70’s or higher) with calm weather. Chicks are sensitive to the cold so you don’t want them experiencing any rain or wind until they’re acclimated to the outdoors.

Outdoor play-time tips (acclimating them to the outdoors prior to the big move):

Keep the chicks are in an enclosed secure playpen or pen where they will be safe from predators and cannot escape.

Make sure they have plenty of fresh food and clean water available at all times.

Cover part of the enclosure with a sheet or piece of cardboard to provide a shady spot if they get too hot.

Always monitor them while they’re outdoors. Baby chicks are easy prey for birds of prey, cats, dogs etc. If you can’t monitor them bring them indoors where they’re safe until you can.

When is it safe to move your chicks to live outdoors permanently? When they’re 6 weeks old and fully feathered. Also, make sure the weather is decent before the big move. The chicks have been coddled in the safety and warmth of their brooder all of their lives, moving them outdoors during bad weather could shock them.

Acclimate them to the outdoors by bringing them out to play for a week or two prior to the big move (see above).

Remove any heat lamps at least 2 weeks prior to the move outdoors. This transition phase is very important as chicks can get sick easily from being chilled and it’s hard for them to recover.

If you’re a new chicken owner, make sure you have an adequately sized chicken coop and run constructed prior to moving them outdoors. Your coop should allow a minimum of 4-5 square feet of space per chicken and the outdoor run should allow at least 5-10 square feet per chicken.

Ensure your chicken coop and run are secure from predators from all around. Hawks can swoop down from above and foxes/coyotes can dig under the walls of your pen. Chickens are low on the food chain so you have to protect them at all times. Even racoons and skunks are predators to chickens.

I personally prefer moving them to their new home at night when they’re relaxed. Chickens are much more mellow when it’s dark (they’re almost in a trance). When they wake up the next morning in their new environment they will begin exploring and the following night instinctively return to their new coop to roost.

Make sure they have plenty of fresh water and food available at all times and maintain a clean coop to avoid illness or attracting flies. I prefer lining my coop and nesting boxes with pine shavings and cleaning the litter out weekly.

That’s about it really. Moving chicks to their coop can be stressful for new chicken parents but you will find that those babies prefer living outdoors and they’ll be excited to run around chasing bugs and scratching around all day. Now to watch them grow into happy hens!