I put my first batch of chicks outside when they were 5.5 weeks old. Our daytime highs were in the 40s, then it dropped! The third night they were out there it snowed. Yep, snowed. I don't use insulation and I don't use supplemental heat. In fact, when they went out there the coop wasn't even finished, Oh, the first night I put a heat lamp out there, and the temperature kept dropping. When I'd go out to check on them (and I'm embarrassed to tell you how often that was) they weren't anywhere near the heat - they were snuggled down together next to the pop door. Next night, same story. So the third night I took the light completely out - and that night it snowed. That's springtime in the mountains of Wyoming! They did just fine.
Now I raise my chicks outdoors in the run from the start using a heating pad cave, even with temps in the teens and twenties, sideways blowing snow and 60 mph winds. They are tougher than we think and you are on the right track turning the light off, although you may want to extend the time for a few days and then turn it off. They need to be off that heat, not just because they don't need it, but because they are creatures of habit and the longer they have something the harder it is - on them and on - when you have tp to remove it.. You might be further ahead to put them in the coop and leave them in there for a few days, perhaps as long as a week, with no light. They'll hate you for a few days, but they'll get over it. They'll snuggle down in the dark and go to sleep, and after that few days (maybe as long as week) they'll know that the coop is home. If you still have difficulty, you could try putting a very dim light in the coop at night - often when the run starts to get dark they'll head for the light. But eventually they'll have to learn that they sleep and lay in the coop, and that sundown means bedtime and sunrise means up-'n-at-em.
Welcome to BYC!
Now I raise my chicks outdoors in the run from the start using a heating pad cave, even with temps in the teens and twenties, sideways blowing snow and 60 mph winds. They are tougher than we think and you are on the right track turning the light off, although you may want to extend the time for a few days and then turn it off. They need to be off that heat, not just because they don't need it, but because they are creatures of habit and the longer they have something the harder it is - on them and on - when you have tp to remove it.. You might be further ahead to put them in the coop and leave them in there for a few days, perhaps as long as a week, with no light. They'll hate you for a few days, but they'll get over it. They'll snuggle down in the dark and go to sleep, and after that few days (maybe as long as week) they'll know that the coop is home. If you still have difficulty, you could try putting a very dim light in the coop at night - often when the run starts to get dark they'll head for the light. But eventually they'll have to learn that they sleep and lay in the coop, and that sundown means bedtime and sunrise means up-'n-at-em.
Welcome to BYC!
