Redwing Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Our chicks are a few weeks old now and are looking an absolute state as their feathers are coming through! (if anyone wants any dander I have plenty ) The chicks are eating for England and are growing at an astonishing rate; I have the chick crumb merchant on speed dial! They are looking a bit crowded in their cage now, when can they go outside? I think I have read its about 8 weeks normally but these are obviously quicker growing so do they go out sooner? I can't see them staying in that cage for another month I have a wooden house and run for them but I don't have an 'in-between' place like a garage that they could be temporarily housed in although I can rig up some type of windbreak for the house outside and can cover the run obviously. I thought I had planned this quite well but all the stuff I have read applied to normal chicks and not these monsters! I am not worried about the noise/mess/smell while keeping them indoors I am just worried that behavioural problems will break out if they are in such close quarters The cage is just over a metre long and 60cm deep and there are five chicks, they are only on heat at night now with the lamp much higher above them now so its a low heat, three have lots of feathers and two still have quite a bit of fluff Any advice would be great, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I usually wait until all the fluff has gone and they are quite well feathered . The weather may be a little on the cold side for a couple of weeks as well If you think space will become a problem then adding cover to the outside run would be better than keeping them inside I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Mine go out feathered up, but I have to say it has been between 5 & 6 weeks that they have been totally off heat and in the eglu - and that was over the winter when it was cold - they grow that much quicker than 'normal' birds. Mine from Jude went out at 5½ weeks - just make sure they are not scared of the dark and are getting use to dark (and therefore not eating) for a few hours at a time to be able to cope with whole nights in a dark coop. I managed to put a hanging feeder & water container in the eglu for the first couple of weeks when they were out so help them adjust fully to day & night. I started leaving the eglu door open at night when they were about 9-10 weeks old. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks you two! I am planning ahead so do think they will be ok for a couple more weeks, I am not about to chuck them out just yet I have a big dog cage I can use to extend the indoor cage if necessary, Chicken rotastack anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I think I went for about 6 weeks but it depend on the weather. If it stays like this then it would sooner rather than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
