What to Do When Your Chicks Start Growing Up: Tips for 2–6 Week Old Chicks

The fluff is flying, and things are getting... dusty.

When your chicks start feathering out, their needs change quickly — and it can get messy in a hurry. This is a stage where first-time chicken keepers often have questions like:

• When do I lower the heat?

• Can I start giving them treats?

• When can they go outside?

• Why is there so much dust in here?!

Whether your chicks are just starting to sprout feathers or you’re preparing to transition them to pasture, here’s how we support them during the in-between stage — typically weeks 2 through 6.

🌡️ Lower the Heat Gradually

As your chicks grow, their fluff gives way to real feathers — which means they need less supplemental heat. We recommend decreasing the temperature by about 5°F per week until they’re fully feathered (usually by 6–8 weeks).

If you're using a heat lamp, raise it slightly. If you're using a heat plate, just raise it a little each week to encourage independence.

Too much heat can actually stress older chicks, so backing off slowly is the way to go.

🍳 Introduce Chick-Safe Treats (With Grit!)

Once they’re 2–3 weeks old, you can start offering small amounts of treats — we love:

• Scrambled egg

• Finely chopped herbs (like oregano or parsley)

• Black solider fly grubs

• Mashed boiled egg yolk

Important: If you're offering anything beyond their starter feed, be sure to give tiny portions of chick grit (sold at most feed stores). It helps them safely digest the new textures.

Treats should always be occasional and small — their starter feed is still their main nutrition source.

🛁 Add a Dust Bath

As chicks get more active, they start wanting to dust bathe — even inside the brooder. You can give them a shallow tray filled with loose dry dirt and a little sand. It helps them:

• Clean their feathers

• Prevent mites and parasites

• Build stronger immunity through light environmental exposure

Bonus: it also gives them something to do besides peck each other 😅

🤝 Use This Time to Bond

This is a great window to build trust with your flock. We like to hand-feed their regular chick feed — no fancy treats required. Once they associate your hands with food (and safety), it becomes much easier to call them, check them, or help them if they ever get injured.

Even if you’re not the pet chicken type, that relationship really helps long term.

🌿 When to Move Chicks Outside

Once chicks are mostly feathered and the outdoor temps are mild, it’s safe to transition them to a protected outdoor setup.

Here on our farm, we move them into a dedicated hoop coop (separate from the adult flock) as soon as they’re ready. They get:

• Sunlight

• Fresh grass

• More space to move

• A huge break from all that brooder dust

If you’re not ready to move them to pasture yet, just make sure they have plenty of ventilation inside the brooder and that bedding is changed regularly — it gets dusty fast during this stage.

🐓 When to Switch from Chick Starter Feed

Most chicks stay on starter or starter/grower feed until around 16–18 weeks, or when they’re getting close to laying age.

At that point, you can transition them to a layer feed with added calcium to support eggshell formation.

If you’re not sure which feed to use when, check the label — most brands clearly say how long it’s intended for.

Raising chicks isn’t just about heat lamps and cute peeps — it’s about giving them the right environment as they grow. This in-between stage can feel messy and loud (because it is!), but with a few small shifts, you’ll help them thrive.

See you on the farm

- Natalie

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