3 weeks--too cold?

[michickenwrangler]

How cold is too cold for 3 week old chicks? They are literally going stir-crazy in their brooder but it is a damp 35 degrees outside. Too cold?

 

[chicky_mommy]

How many are they?

 

[michickenwrangler]

8 total: 6 standard, 2 bantams

Wings are fully feathered, bodies are starting to feather. Their cardboard box is big: 3' x 3' (it housed a tired saddle rack) and I do have a small rabbit cage I could possibly put the banties in.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Quote:
Too young.. wait till fully feathered.

 

[speckledhen]

Sort of depends on if they have a heat lamp or not and if they have a draft free building. I wouldn't let them outside on the ground at that temp.

 

[michickenwrangler]

They're in my living room. So long as I have the heat on, they no longer have a heat lamp. When it is sunny, I put them in tha cage on the porch (porch faces south and has windows on 3 sides, so yesterday while it was 40 degrees and sunny, it was 70+ on the porch--makes a dandy greenhouse!) and they like watching the wild birds and free-ranging chickens.

 

[chicky_mommy]

If you have a broody hen you might try putting them out with her but thats chancy. If you can put a heat lamp you could put on/near/in (deepending on the size/space) the rabbit cage then you could probably leave them in the rabbit cage on the porch and turn on the heat lamp at night.