30 degrees at night....60 in the day.

newchik715

Songster
10 Years
Aug 31, 2009
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119
Washington
I want to move my chicks out to the coop as soon as I can. We are in the PNW...BUrlington to be exact and have had a very mild winter. No snow....60 degrees in the day time but still frost in the early morning some days. I know I can put the heat lamp out with them but what about when they are older? Like say, NEXT winter....how do the chickens survive really cold temps? Even if the coop is well insulated? And as 5 week olds will they be okay in 30 degrees at night? Hubby says I will kill them if I put them in the coop now but I have read on here lots of people never even raise their babies in the house. Any help, total newbie here!
 
Yesterday, I put 18 three-week-olds out in a little grow out coop. They have two heat lamps and are having the time of their lives, looking out a window for the first time ever. In three weeks, they won't even have that heat lamp at night and will be going outside on sunny days. As long as there are no drafts at their level, but okay ventilation up high, they should be fine.

Chickens do better in cold temps than in hot ones. Feathers are great insulation.
 
Sorry everyone, I did not look before I posted and did not realize someone else already started a thread like this! So, quickly, do you think if I wean them off the lamp first that they will be okay going out without one? I really want to be done with the light as soon as possible. I will of course do whatever is best for the babies but I really want them out and on their own! Hubby just gives me too much trouble about their light and stuff.

Disclaimer: i will not do as hubby asks if it will harm the chicks!
 
Your full grown chickens will be perfectly fine NEXT year during winter.

I kept my chicks in the house until the oldest were 12 weeks old, simply because I had 3 different batches of different ages, and the youngest was only 8 wks old. I know some folk move theirs out at 5 to 7 weeks of age... but I wanted to make sure the chicks were fully, totally, completely feathered out. Not just with wings and tailfeathers and back feathers, but full neck feathers and body feathers. Yes, their butts will always be fluffy.....

Plus, I kept the heat lamp on at night for a few nights until I realized how silly that was..... This is California, for goodness sake! (But it got down to 24 degrees a couple nights!) The chickens missed it when I stopped using it when our nights were only 35-38 degrees...., but that's because I had coddled them. They were not harmed .... it just would have been better to wean them off the heat lamp sooner.
 
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They'll be fine next winter with no light. I'm in PNW too and have an unisulted coop. We got down to 6 F here in earl Dec. and everybody did just fine, no frostbite or anything.

As far as your youngsters go I wouldn't take them from under a light inside to outside with nothing, but if you set them up a place outside with a heat lamp they'll be fine. Like Cyn said, just make sure they are draft free. Also, Be VERY Carefull about your heat lamp. There are lots of threads dealing with the tragic results of improperly secured lamps and the fires that they cause.
 

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