# 5 Weeks!



## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

My 4 baby chicks are now 5 weeks old! We just got back from a week long vacation, and we left them with my mom's friend who has a mini farm. She has goats, rabbits, and a garden. Her house is still under some construction so she doesn't have chickens yet, but she knows a great deal about them.
We picked them up yesterday, and I couldn't believe how big they were!
Little Atari is getting her stripes! It makes me so happy.
Anyways, the temps have been climbing here. An average day is 85-90 degrees. Our chicks are kept in a screened in porch. Today I noticed they were panting a lot, so I gave them a container with more ice water. I also positioned a fan a distance away from them on the medium setting. This seemed to help.
I have a few questions, though.

1. I had the fan on high before switching it to a lower mode because when the chicks went in front of it they would stretch out their necks, and open their mouths really wide several times in a row. It looked like silent crowing. I was worried about gasping for a bit, but I noticed the chicks will do that randomly sometimes and they are always fine afterwards. Why do they do this in front of the fan a lot, and also, why do they do this at random times?

2. How hot is too hot? We don't use the heat lamp anymore, and that's a good thing. The chicks would be WAY too hot with it. I've given them two waterers, a fan, and shade. They don't pant that much, though. I'm just wondering what's all right for them.

3. Coop time? My chicks are about 8 inches long in 6 inches high right now. 
After we get the hardware cloth fringe around the coop, would it be all right to have them in the coop during the day (with plenty of shade and water, of course) and put them back in the brooder in the porch at night until they are 7-8 weeks? That's when you move them to the coop, correct?

4. Foraging? I let my chicks out for about 30 minutes in the backyard (while I'm watching them closely.) They flap around, jump in the air, run through the grass, and peck at the ground. I noticed they will eat bits of dirt, grass, and leaves. Is this safe for them? They seem to enjoy eating it, but they're not gorging on it. They take little bites of things and then will just peck sometimes. 
I hope this is safe.

All right, that's all for now. I hope I can get some answers. That would certainly help. Thank you!

Oh, and I almost forgot. Pictures!!


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## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

I just noticed, the brooder looks small for them, but my camera was inside it when I took these pictures. It's big enough for them, trust me.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

My 5 week olds are out in the big coop, but the first 2 weeks I keep everyone locked up so the babies know where their house is. I have a covered fenced in run attached to my coops. This way everyone can be out but contained for 2 weeks. Once I feel they know home I only let them out to my yard if I'm sitting out here. They stay close to the run door and bolt back in the run if something scares them. As weeks go by they venture further and further in the yard, but again I only let them out when me and the dogs are outside. . Once they are full grown and more mature they get more yard time . (My yard is an acre all fenced in but I don't have many trees or bushes for cover so I make sure I'm out with them)


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Here are some of the 5 week olds.

The older one at the run door was born in march here, she is looking over the younger ones.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I have a grow out pen I move my juveniles in to before they go to the coop.If it's still cool at night,I bring them in.If it's 70 or above I leave them out but close the house up to cut down on drafts and heat loss.Different chickens have individual thresholds to how high of temps they can handle.Chickens generally handle extreme cold better than extreme heat.Just provide shade and cold water.I noticed when I put a fan in my coop,everybody started sneezing so I turned it around to blow the hot air out and away from the birds.Panting is a way they cool down,they don't sweat like people,so that's normal.They should be fine picking around in the grass.Glad to hear they are doing good for you.Have they been everything you imagined?


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## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

chickenqueen said:


> I have a grow out pen I move my juveniles in to before they go to the coop.If it's still cool at night,I bring them in.If it's 70 or above I leave them out but close the house up to cut down on drafts and heat loss.Different chickens have individual thresholds to how high of temps they can handle.Chickens generally handle extreme cold better than extreme heat.Just provide shade and cold water.I noticed when I put a fan in my coop,everybody started sneezing so I turned it around to blow the hot air out and away from the birds.Panting is a way they cool down,they don't sweat like people,so that's normal.They should be fine picking around in the grass.Glad to hear they are doing good for you.Have they been everything you imagined?


Thanks so much! We took the fan away and are just using the overhead fan now. They don't mind it at all. They also enjoy their ice water. And indeed, they are everything I imagined! Today we noticed them trying to take dust baths in their cage (which has a solid plastic floor, no sand or shavings). We took them down to our sand box and tried to get them to bathe with no luck... 
They are becoming very sweet and tolerant of being picked up. They sleep on the little roost bar at night and flap around in the grass during the day. It's nice!
One question though - would it be ok to put them in the coop during the day only? Thanks!


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