Lessons from Chickenlandia: Putting Young Chickens Outside Full-Time

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Dalia Monterroso, The President of Chickenlandia 

This month, I’m expected to sign paperwork that permits my 14-year-old son to travel to Europe on a school trip. I confess that I’ve put it off until the last minute despite repeated reminders from seemingly everyone I know that it will be the experience of a lifetime. Is it really so strange that I’m having trouble with the idea of letting my baby boy fly to another continent without me? I mean, I can barely transfer my eight-week-old chicks outside to their coop full-time. After all, I’m their mother! 

It’s Hard to Let Go 

Oh, the age-old challenge for human mothers everywhere to let their babies go. Chicken mamas, however, are another story. Occasionally, there’s a mother hen who will allow her chicks to snuggle for as long as they desire. But more times than not I have witnessed the seemingly cruel casting out of adolescent chicks from their mother’s warm underbelly. She pecks them, she scolds them, she flies from their advances. She wants to get on with her life and lay another clutch of eggs, starting the cycle over again. However harsh, these hormonal shifts are necessary for the continuation of her species. Her offspring will be more resilient for the experience.  

But let’s say your baby chicks haven’t been raised by a mother hen. They’ve instead lived the life of luxury in your garage, bathroom, or even living room until the formative age of six to eight weeks. They are fully feathered, save for a tiny tuft of fluff on their head. They’ve been flying out of the brooder and left a few “poop gifts” on the kitchen floor (how generous). They’ve generated so much dust that you’re considering a whole-house filter. “But we already have a whole-house filter,” your husband says. He’s right; goodness this dust is epic. You know deep down it’s time. It’s time for your feather-children to learn the way of the coop and live permanently outside.  

Ease Them Into It 

When can chicks go outside? In a best case scenario, your chicks have already been spending hours outside by the time they are fully feathered. Allowing some supervised outside time for young chickens is a good idea even from a few days old, with the knowledge that the younger they are the more supervision they will need due to both their vulnerability to predators and their tendency to get chilled. These field trips should be extended gradually over their two months in the brooder, arriving at almost full days outside between six to eight weeks. If these instructions are followed, acclimating them to full time in the coop and yard is easier on everyone involved.  

If your chicks haven’t been outside before adolescence, don’t worry. Just be mindful that, depending on the climate you live in, it may be best to acclimate them to the outdoors slowly. You can first turn their source of brooder warmth off for the day, then for the following night. Once they’ve made it through that hurdle, you can put them outside for the day and bring them in at night. If fully feathered, young chickens should be able to withstand nighttime temperatures. But if it’s getting below 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside, be mindful to acclimate them slowly, either by supplementing heat safely in the coop, bringing  them in at night until twelve weeks of age, or waiting until the weather gets milder.  

They Get By With a Little Help from You 

Young chickens have some amazing instincts, but one thing they may be unable to do without a mother hen or your assistance is understand exactly where they should roost at night. Putting baby chicks outside and expecting them to roost in their coop with no prior direction is a surefire way to end up with chickens roosting in the trees, on top of a fence, or worse, huddled in a corner of your yard. To show teenage chicks where to lay down their roots, they must be limited to either the coop itself or an attached run and coop for at least a few days. This way, they will more easily understand where home is, and they are more likely to go inside the coop when dusk falls.  

Of course, it’s not uncommon for young chickens to try and sleep huddled near the coop, under the coop, or on the floor inside the coop when they are first introduced to the outside. This is normal. What you may wish to do in this case is gently relocate them onto the roosting bar one by one (a mother hen will often show them the roost before cutting ties). Don’t worry, you’re not spoiling them. They will learn to roost on their own in no time! 

Adding Chicks to An Existing Flock 

But what if this isn’t your first rodeo and you have the dilemma of adding young chickens to an older and considerably more cranky adult flock? In this case, it’s best to set up an area within your chicken yard in which your young chickens can live intermediately, all the while being able to see the older flock and being seen by the older flock in return. During this transitional period, the older chickens can gradually become accustomed to and be more accepting of the young’uns, but don’t expect rainbows and butterflies once the actual integration begins. Squabbles and scolds are normal when pecking order is involved, as long as blood isn’t being drawn. The following excerpt is a guideline for exactly when to integrate your young chickens with your existing flock, taken from my book Let’s All Keep Chickens (Storey Publishing): 

When Can I Integrate My New Chicks to My Existing Flock?  

Note that you may be able to integrate your chicks sooner than outlined below, or you may need to wait longer, depending on the unique personality of your flock. 

Standard chickens to standard chickens: At least 12 weeks 

Bantam to standard: At least 16 weeks 

Standard to bantam: At least 10 weeks 

Adult to adult: Any age 

Excerpted from Let’s All Keep Chickens © by Dalia Monterroso, used with permission from Storey Publishing. 

I remember the first time I put a flock of baby chicks outside full-time. It was nerve wracking, but after about 24 hours it was clear that the natural place for chickens is among nature. I also remember the trip to Italy I took when I was 15 years old. It was with my school, and shaped who I am today. I’m grateful to my mom and dad; I know that wasn’t easy. But it certainly was the experience of a lifetime. 

You know her as The President of Chickenlandia, but her non-feathered friends call her Dalia. Some years ago, Dalia decided to bring home 10 little chicks and start a hobby. That hobby quickly grew into a full-feathered passion that she couldn’t stop talking about. Before long, she was part-owner of a farm store, teaching beginner chicken-keeping classes, and delivering seminars across Northwest Washington. While the store has since closed, Dalia continues to help others start their chicken-keeping adventure while sharing peace, laughter, and inspiration.

Published in the June/July 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.