45 degrees too cold at night for 8 week old chickens?

[elsathecat]

I really want to put my chickens in their coop for good but am not sure if 45 degees is too cold for them. They appear to be fully featherd but I'm a total chicken novice.

 

[lizareny]

I've left 11 wk old brahma chicks out when I thought it could of been a little more chilly than they could handle, but the did great! No wind chill, no rain though.

 

[CorralitosSunflower]

I think 45 degrees at 8 weeks is alright as long as they have something they can snuggle together in like a dog crate or nest box

 

[gritsar]

If you have weaned them off their heat lamp, they'll be fine.
The only time I could see you running into trouble is if you take them from a warm cozy brooder, heated by a heat lamp and suddenly stick them in a cold coop.

 

[Wynette]

I would give a heat lamp in the coop at least the first few days, then wean them off.

 

[silkiechicken]

With a cozy and draft free coop, just wean them from heat with a flourecent light to prevent piling and they should be fine. I take out the heat for 6 weekers when it can still dip into the upper 30's at night.

 

[BethieofVA]

My girls(four) have been outside for a week without at lamp. They will be seven weeks tomorrow and with a few nights dipping into the high 40's, absolutely no issues.

 

[jojorose8]

I would give a heat lamp in the coop at least the first few days, then wean them off.

How do you wean them off heat? I'm in this same situation and trying to figure out how to slowly remove the heat source. I use a Premier 1 heat plate.

 

[SandyinWI]

I use a heat plate too. My girls will mostly sleep in front of it. Some nights they snuggle up in the furthest corner away from the heater. They will be 4 weeks old soon. The bedroom they are in is around 70. We're starting to warm up here and should be in the 40s to 50s at night. Not quite fully feathered though. I have one buckeye and she is pretty slow at getting her feathers. Should I start taking away the heater or just let them wean themselves before moving out? Or should I take the heater out to the big girl coop when they can be moved? They all love to roost, well not the buckeye, but still sleep on the floor together.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How do you wean them off heat? I'm in this same situation and trying to figure out how to slowly remove the heat source. I use a Premier 1 heat plate.

With a heat plate they wean themselves, at least down to ambient temperature. They just stay away from it as long as they have room to avoid it. How old are yours and what are your nighttime lows? Are they outside yet?

Several times I've had five-week-olds go through nights below freezing. Not bitter cold, in the mid 20's. Mine are raised outside in a big brooder so they are acclimated. The coop has great ventilation up high and good breeze protection down low. It can be a little rough going direct from a tropical climate like the inside of your house directly to really cold temperatures, but I would not hesitate at 6 weeks and a low of 45F as long as the coop had decent ventilation and good breeze protection.