Raising chicks week 1 to week 6: temperature, feed, and the move to the coop

The mistake that kills more chicks than predators or disease in their first six weeks is overheating a brooder a worried keeper has cranked too warm. Chicks need a temperature schedule, not a coddled one. Start at 90–95°F at chick level under the lamp, drop 5°F per week, and end at 65–70°F by week 6 — when most birds are fully feathered and ready for the coop.

The temperature anchor (90–95°F week 1, drop 5°F per week through week 6) and the 15-inch-minimum-from-litter lamp suspension come straight from UMN Extension's “Raising Layer Chicks and Pullets.” The week-by-week feed quantities, the move-the-brooder timing, and the don't-mix-with-adults rule are practitioner consensus across hatcheries and 4-H poultry programs — useful as defaults, not as precision. What follows is the week-by-week walkthrough I'd hand a first-time chick keeper.

Day 1 — arrival setup

Chicks arrive either shipped or freshly hatched, and the first twenty-four hours are mostly about not making things worse. My default on starter feed: medicated (amprolium) unless the hatchery already vaccinated for coccidiosis — in which case medicated starter cancels the vaccine and you should run unmedicated. Either way, ≥18% protein. First-day priorities:

Brooder pre-warmed to 90–95°F at chick level under the lamp before chicks go in. Verify with a thermometer 2 inches off the floor under the edge of the lamp — not at the lamp face, not at adult head height.
Each chick dipped beak-first in the watererso they recognize water. They'll drink within minutes.
Fresh chick starter spread on paper towel for the first 2–3 days (helps chicks find feed without scratching it into bedding). Switch to a chick feeder by day 4.
Liquid water in a chick-safe waterer with small drinking lip (deep open dishes drown chicks). Marbles or pebbles in the trough during week 1 prevent drowning if you only have an adult waterer.
Pine shavings bedding 2–3 inches deep, OR paper towel for the first 2–3 days then switch to shavings (paper alone gets soaked, chicks slip on smooth surface). Avoid cedar shavings entirely— the aromatic oils cause respiratory damage in chicks. This isn't a maybe.

Watch chick behavior the first hour — it's the only readout that matters more than the thermometer. Distributed across the brooder = correct. Piled directly under the lamp = too cold, lower it. Pressed against the walls away from the lamp = too hot, raise the lamp 2–3 inches. Trust the birds over the gauge if they disagree.

Week 1 — 90–95°F, half a pound of starter per ten chicks per day

Target 90–95°F at chick level. Chicks are eating, drinking, and starting to push primary wing feathers by end-of-week. Pasty butt is the killer worth watching for here — week 1 is when it shows up, and a chick whose vent stays sealed for 24+ hours dies. Check every bird every morning. Daily checklist:

Refill water 2× daily (chicks foul it constantly)
Refill feed; check feeder is clean and free of bedding
Spot-clean wet bedding under waterer; don't replace all bedding (gradually building deep-litter base)
Read thermometer at chick level; adjust lamp height as needed
Watch for pasty butt (dried feces blocking the vent) and clean any cases with warm water — common in week 1, fatal if untreated

Daily feed: ~0.08–0.10 lb per chick. For 10 chicks, ~5–7 lb of chick starter total in week 1.

Week 2 — drop 5°F, size the brooder up

Target drops to 85–90°F. Primary feathers show on wings; some breeds start showing back feathers. Activity rises sharply — chicks that mostly slept in week 1 now run, jump, and try to launch themselves at the lamp cord.

The brooder needs to be bigger than what looked roomy at day 1 — chicks at this size need ~0.5 sq ft each minimum, growing weekly. A standard 110-gal stock tank holds 10 chicks comfortably through week 3; 8 chicks through week 4. If you're torn between a tote and a stock tank, take the stock tank — chicks cramped at week 3 start pecking each other's vents and wings, and that habit doesn't stop when you finally upsize.

Weeks 3–4 — move the brooder to the garage

Targets: 80–85°F (week 3), 75–80°F (week 4). Chicks nearly fully feathered on backs and wings; tail feathers coming in. By end of week 4, the birds look like miniature adult chickens.

If the brooder is still in your living room, move it now — garage, basement, outbuilding, anywhere that isn't a bedroom. Chick dust at this stage coats every surface in the house in 24–48 hours, and it's not the kind of dust a vacuum gets out. The brooder relocation is the most-postponed chore on this list and the one I'd push hardest. Daily feed: ~0.14 lb per chick (~10 lb/week for 10 chicks).

Around week 4, supervised outdoor excursions in mild weather (60°F+ daytime, no wind, predator-secured pen) help chicks ambient-acclimate. 30–60 minutes is enough; keep a heat source in the brooder for the return.

Weeks 5–6 — fully feathered, switch to grower

Targets: 70–75°F (week 5), 65–70°F (week 6). Pinions and wing-coverts complete; tail feathers fully extended for most breeds. Birds look like small adult chickens at week 6 — bantams and slow-feathering breeds (Cochins, some Brahmas) can run a week behind, which is normal, not a problem.

Switch to grower feed at week 6 if you're running the starter→grower→layer sequence; for keepers running straight starter to layer at 18 weeks, hold on starter. I'd default to the three-stage path — grower's lower calcium is meaningfully easier on developing kidneys than dropping pullets straight onto a layer ration at 16–18 weeks. Daily feed: ~0.18 lb per chick. For 10 chicks across 6 weeks, you've used roughly 18–25 lb of starter and grower combined.

Week 6+ — moving to the coop without losing birds

The blocker on coop transition isn't age — it's feathering. When chicks are fully feathered AND outdoor ambient is at least 50°F at night, move them. Bare patches at the wing tips, neck, or back mean wait, regardless of week number. Steps:

Daytime visits to the coop with all chicks together for 3–5 days. Feed and water travel with them.
First overnight stay when forecast is at least 55°F overnight, no rain. A heat lamp in the coop for the first 2 nights as a safety net is fine, but only if it's 15+ inches off litter, on a GFCI outlet, and fastened twice — see the brooder safety guide. A knocked-over lamp will burn the coop down and the birds with it, and that's not hypothetical.
Pull the heat lamp by night 3–5 if chicks are sleeping distributed (not piled).
Don't mix chicks with an existing adult flock at this transition. Separate runs for 2–4 weeks first, then integrate slowly. Adult hens kill chicks they perceive as outsiders, and they're not subtle about it. The shortcut here costs you birds.

Pasty butt, spraddle leg, coccidiosis — what kills chicks first

Pasty butt(dried feces blocking vent): warm damp washcloth, gentle wipe, vent open. Most common in week 1, often fatal if missed for 24+ hours. Of the four problems on this list, this is the one I'd pre-train every new keeper to recognize on sight.
Spraddle leg(legs splay outward, can't stand): tape legs together loosely with a small spacer for 48 hours. Caused by slick brooder floors — newspaper or paper-only flooring on smooth surfaces is the named culprit.
Coccidiosis (lethargic chicks, bloody droppings, rapid death): use medicated chick starter (amprolium) OR vaccinate at the hatchery — pick one, never both. Outbreaks kill quickly; act on first symptoms.
Pecking-order injury(chicks pecking each other's vents or wings): brooder is overcrowded or the red lamp burned out and dropped to white light. Add space; switch back to a red-tinted bulb; isolate the most-injured chick to recover.

Size the lamp to your specific brooder

The 90→65°F schedule above is the principle. For your specific chick count, brooder dimensions, and ambient room temperature, the brooder heat lamp calculator outputs the matching wattage and the safety checklist that goes with it. Same temperature schedule, sized to what you actually have.

Frequently asked

What do chicks need on day 1?

A brooder at 90–95°F at chick level under the heat source, chick starter feed (≥18% protein, medicated or unmedicated depending on hatchery vaccination status), liquid water with a chick-safe waterer that prevents drowning, and pine shavings or paper towel bedding. Don't add anything else day 1 — no treats, no scratch grain, no electrolytes unless chicks arrived stressed from shipping. Watch chick behavior: distributed = correct; piled under lamp = too cold; pressed against walls = too hot.

How long do chicks need a heat lamp?

Through week 6 typically — the temperature target drops from 90–95°F (week 1) to 65–70°F (week 6) at 5°F per week. By week 6, most chicks are fully feathered and can transition to coop temperatures (down to ~50°F ambient) safely. Mild-climate broods can hit week 4–5 and graduate; cold-climate broods often run heat through week 7. The bird's behavior is the signal: chicks staying away from the heat source most of the day are ready to come off.

How much do chicks eat per week?

About 0.08–0.12 lb per chick per day in week 1, rising to about 0.18 lb/day by week 6. For 10 chicks across 6 weeks, total feed is roughly 18–25 lb of chick starter — half a 50-lb bag of starter. Scale linearly for larger batches. Chicks should always have feed available; never run an empty feeder, especially during the first 4 weeks when growth velocity is high.

When can chicks go outside?

Short supervised excursions starting around week 4 in mild weather (60°F+ daytime). Full coop transition happens at week 6–8 once chicks are fully feathered. Cold-climate broods wait until week 8 or longer. The blocker isn't age — it's feathering. Birds with bare patches at the wing tips, neck, or back aren't ready regardless of week. Match the move to ambient temperature: never transition to a coop colder than ~50°F if chicks aren't fully feathered.

Can I keep chicks indoors?

Yes for the first 2–3 weeks, in a brooder enclosure (large plastic tote, stock tank, or built brooder box). After that, chick dust gets significant — chicks shed dander rapidly and the dust coats every surface in the room. Most keepers move the brooder to a garage, basement, or outbuilding by week 3. By week 6 the brooder is best in an outbuilding both for dust and for ambient-acclimating chicks before coop transition.

What's the most common mistake new keepers make with chicks?

Overheating the brooder. The instinct is to make chicks 'cozy' — but the temperature schedule (90–95°F → drop 5°F/week) is what the chicks need, not warmer. Overheated chicks crash with heat stress, pant, scatter to brooder edges, and stop eating. Use a thermometer at chick level under the lamp; trust the reading; ignore the urge to crank the heat. Second most common: not enough vertical space to let chicks self-regulate — chicks need a cool zone away from the lamp to escape heat.

By Jimmy L Wu. Reviewed 2026-05-02. Temperature schedule (90–95°F week 1, drop 5°F per week through week 6) anchored on UMN Extension “Raising Layer Chicks and Pullets.” The 15-inch-minimum-from-litter lamp suspension is also UMN Extension. Pasty-butt + spraddle-leg + coccidiosis framing reflects practitioner consensus across hatcheries and 4-H poultry programs. Not veterinary advice — for sick chicks or any animal-health emergency, consult an avian or livestock veterinarian, or your county Cooperative Extension office.