Want to move my girls into the coop..it gets chilly at night..high 50's low 60's...i moved my first batch in at 4 weeks but it was mid summer and hot...is it too cold..should i keep them in brooder for a few more weeks?
Is 55 Degrees Too Cold For My 5 Week Olds?
- Thread starter chickie<3
- Start date
If you cannot run a light bulb out there safely, then it's going to be too cold. I like to move mine out also to the coops early, but boy do they need that light bulb to keep their body temps up to the standard recommendations. I noticed mine huddling under it from time to time during the day even (I let mine go out of their coop on grass at 3 weeks but only a very small fenced area where they could find their way back to the light easily).
1st week of life: 90-95 degrees (I shoot for the lower end of the range.)
2nd: 85-90
3rd: 80-85
4th: 75-80
5th: 70-75
6th: 70
until fully feathered. And make sure they can get away from the heat.
1st week of life: 90-95 degrees (I shoot for the lower end of the range.)
2nd: 85-90
3rd: 80-85
4th: 75-80
5th: 70-75
6th: 70
until fully feathered. And make sure they can get away from the heat.
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After watching a mama hen take her three day old chicks out in 55 degree weather, I think they'll be fine with those night temps. Give them a bed of deep straw and you'll be surprised. Have you ever hidden in a hay loft? That stuff gets warm!
I've been with out electric for several months now. My babies have gone outside in the big pen at 1 week old. Of course they have a whole group to cuddle. At 5 weeks old they should be well on the way to feathered out and fine with out a lamp
If you really want them outside put them out in the day(make sure they do not get pecked at!) then at night take them inside under a heat lamp. wait until they are fully feathered then they can go outside. Or if they have a mama hen to go under in the night don't even worry about it.
Five weeks is pretty big. I really wouldn't worry. They'll be fine.
Before i knew anything about raising chickens, i housed 3 week old buff orpingtons outside, with chicken wire for walls, in very chilly 50-60 degree nights. Now, i don't recommend this - like i said, i had no idea what i was doing. But, the cold didn't hurt them a bit, so i recommend your 5-weekers will be fine if they have walls and bedding to boot!
Before i knew anything about raising chickens, i housed 3 week old buff orpingtons outside, with chicken wire for walls, in very chilly 50-60 degree nights. Now, i don't recommend this - like i said, i had no idea what i was doing. But, the cold didn't hurt them a bit, so i recommend your 5-weekers will be fine if they have walls and bedding to boot!
I've been letting my 4 week old chicks outside in the coop for most of the day (daytime highs in the upper 60s) and then bringing them back into the brooder at night. The coop has a small fenced in run, but in the nesting/roosting area I have a 75 watt bulb in there in case it gets too windy, or they get too cold. They've been loving the outside and have shown no signs of being uncomfortable....they're too busy taking dust baths and chasing bugs!
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At 5-weeks old they'll be fine without a light as long as they're in a dry draft free spot and there's more then 2-3 of them. I lost a broody hen to a coyote when her brood was 3-weeks old (I think) and I brought them in for a week and then put them in the growout pen. Our temps where a bit lower at night (upper 40's-low 50's) and they did just fine. There were 11 in that batch so plenty of little bodies to cuddle up to, but they never piled up tight so I don't think the temps. bothered them at all.
I have 8 standard chicks that are 5 1/2 weeks old and they've been living out in an unheated dog house coop together for a week. When I got up this morning outside temp was 45 degrees F and they were fine. They've been loving being out of the brooder! Even the smallest of the group has been fine. Once they're older they will move in with the rest of the flock in the coop with the heat lamp on a timer for the winter but for now they've been okay.
mldlm
Songster
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