6 weeks old and getting Big!

Too big for the brooder but not big enough yet for the coop! It was time to get the girls out of the garage and out into the open. They were sneaking out of the brooder anyway as there were telltale signs (i.e. chicken poop) around the brooder. We had been told that the the chicks need to be at least 1/2 the size of the other chickens before introducing them to the flock (although technically the chicks are the "flock"...there are more of them than the grown-up hens). So the weekend before last we bought an exercise pen and a dog crate as temporary housing. Of course it was one of the hottest days of the year...trying to catch the chicks and move them outside. I am pretty sure we got the worst of the experience.