From brooder to coop: When to move your chicks outside
It happens to all of us who raise chicks.
One day your chicks are tiny little downy puffballs of cuteness, and the next day they’re fully-feathered chickens—miniature chickens, sure, but about 20 times the size of their former selves. And they’re wreaking havoc in the brooder, which is suddenly much too small for them.
And you think to yourself, Good God, I’ve got to get these burgeoning velociraptors out of my house yesterday! …But is it too soon for them?
Chicks who are fully feathered, typically at ~5-6 weeks of age, are ready to be moved from the brooder to the coop. However, if the coop temperature is considerably different from the brooder temperature, chicks may need access to fans or heaters until they have adjusted.
That’s the short answer.
In the rest of this article, you’ll learn how to recognize the 10 signs your chicks are ready to move from their brooder to their coop. And you’ll learn exactly why 5-6 weeks is typically the perfect time to move them (hint: because Mother Nature says so).
You’ll also learn how you may be able to move your chicks out even earlier, and under what circumstances you may have to wait to move them out later.
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The 10 signs your chicks are ready to move from their brooder to their coop
You’ll know for sure your chicks are ready to move outside to their coop when:
#1 Your chicks are fully feathered.
Your chicks’ baby down is gone, and their new feathers have shed their keratin sheaths and are full and beautiful. Their first molt (which starts basically at hatch) is finally complete, and your birds look like little mini-chickens!
Poppy the Red Sex Link still has downy feathers on her neck, head, and chest at ~1 month old. She’s not quite ready to move out to the coop just yet.
Madge the Black Sex Link is fully-feathered at ~1 month old. She’s ready to move out to the coop, but she’s waiting for Poppy (pictured left) to finish feathering first.
Those beautiful feathers mean your chicks are now capable of fully thermoregulating. Bye-bye, brooder heater.
However, if your coop is considerably cooler or warmer than their brooding area, you may need to introduce them to that temperature change gradually.
Consider a Sweeter Heater for cold weather or a coop fan for warm weather. I’ve actually run both a heater and a fan for the same set of chicks before—I used the fan during the hot days and turned the heater on during the cold nights.
Do make sure your chicks have enough space to get away from the heater or fan if they want to.
#2 Your chicks have outgrown all their brooder supplies.
My 6-week-old, Poppy, is ready to move from her brooder to her coop.
Your chicks start going through their feed and water really fast, and they’re starting to look bigger than their feeders and waterers.
And that little brooder plate—how the heck did they ever all fit under there!
#3 You can hardly keep up with cleaning the brooding area.
Here’s a scientific fact for you: at about 5 weeks of age, chick poop quadruples in size.
Okay, that might not actually be a real scientific fact, but it sure seems that way. Suddenly, you feel like all you do all day is clean that frickin’ brooding area.
#4 Your brooding area starts to smell.
Yep, poop’ll do that. The curse of the small brooder.
Next time, try a camping tent. Your chicks (and your nose) will thank you. And your husband will quit with the divorce threats. You know—the “It’s me or the chicks!” ultimatum. (Let’s be real, Honey… It’s the chicks.)
#5 You just know your chicks need more space.
Maybe they’re antsy. Maybe they’re getting cranky with each other. Or maybe they just look like Godzilla monsters stomping around in Brooder City. You know their needs are no longer being met.
Move them to the coop.
#6 Your chicks are perching… a lot.
#7 Your chicks are participating in more rough-and-tumble play.
Have you seen them leaping on top of each other yet? Give them some space.
#8 Your chicks are behaving more aggressively.
This tends to be the case if their brooder space is too small, or if you have cockerels. The boys always shake things up a bit. Get those little hooligans outside.
#9 Your chicks are starting to display sexual behavior (and it isn’t always pretty).
Again, this is really just boys only. Your male chicks will start practicing chasing your female chicks at this age, as well as biting their necks and jumping on them. They haven’t quite picked up how to appropriately flirt yet.
And your little ladies will be begging you to get them more space for escape.
#10 Your chicks are more independent and ready to range.
In the wild, at 6-8 weeks of age, chicks venture further from their mama hen than ever before. One group of researchers measured the maximum distance chicks could be from their mama hen before they started distress calling for her to come to get them.
| Chicks' age | Maximum distance from mama hen |
|---|---|
| 0-2 weeks |
5 feet |
| 3 weeks |
10 feet |
| 4 weeks |
25 feet |
| 6-8 weeks |
80 feet |
| 9-10 weeks |
20 feet |
At 6 weeks of age, chicks traveled considerably further from their mama hens than they ever had before. And then, interestingly, at 9-10 weeks, they preferred to be closer to her again.
This indicates 6 weeks is the perfect time to give your chicks more freedom.
Why 5-6 weeks is the most natural time to move your chicks to their brooder.
Your chicks (had they been raised in nature) would begin the weaning process from mama hen at 5-6 weeks of age.
“[Weaning is] the process of breaking the bond between the hen and her brood.”
The natural weaning process starts at 5-6 weeks (when chicks are fully feathered) and may last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. It all depends on the particular chicks, the particular mama hen, and the season (cold-weather chicks are weaned more quickly than warm-weather chicks).
During weaning the hen progressively separates from her chicks, stops tidbitting (i.e., making food calls to attract the chicks), and then eventually gets aggressive with them when they try to roost with her or get too close to her.
With time, the chicks integrate with other flocks. The females typically find a dominant rooster and join his family. And the males originally live as subordinate roosters, often on the fringe of a flock.
What this means is that in nature, chicks are at a transitional period starting at 5-6 weeks of age. This is the period where they begin to leave the comfort of the nest and find their own territory and family.
And so, moving your chicks from their brooder area (i.e., their nest area) to their permanent housing at 5-6 weeks of age mimics the natural phenomenon of maternal weaning.
Moving your chicks to the coop earlier or later than usual.
What if your chicks are fully feathered earlier than 5 weeks?
Some chicks may be fully feathered around 1 month old. In the last brood I raised, this was the case for my Black Sex Links, but not for my Red Sex Links of the same age.
Minnie and Madge are fully-fully feathered at ~1 month old. Minnie (left) still has a little bit of baby chick down on her neck, but not much.
Poppy and Pippa still have quite a bit of baby chick down at ~1 month old.
As long as your chicks are fully feathered, they can be moved outside, regardless of their age. However, the younger they are, the smaller they are. So, be sure they are fully protected in their coop and run. Make sure they’re both unable to get out and that nothing else is able to get in.
What if your chicks aren’t fully feathered at 5-6 weeks?
Wait until they’re fully feathered to move them outdoors, so they don’t chill. In some cases, this may take as long as 12 weeks, although that’s not the norm.
Is there a way to speed up chick feather growth?
You’ll still need to make sure your chicks have a warm brooder plate—they always need a place where they can get warm when they need to. But if you lower the room temperature of your brooding room, your chicks’ feathers will grow in more rapidly.
I keep my room temperature at 70-75°F because that’s the most comfortable temperature for my chicks. But if you wanted them to feather out faster, you could start brooding them in a room that’s 60°F and then slowly lower the room temperature after your chicks are 10-14 days old.
Ready to make the move?
Check out my article, How to move your chicks from the brooder to the coop: 9 tips for a smooth transition.
Sources
McBride, G., Parer, I., and Foenander, F., “The social organization and behavior of the feral domestic fowl.” Animal Behaviour Monographs, v. 2, no. 3, 1969, p. 125-181.
Damerow, Gail. Hatching and brooding your own chicks. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2013.