5-6wk old potential egg layers :)

[Chickmgnet]

It's been a wild ride so far but I love it. Any advice when it comes to transitioning them from heat lamp to coop? I've been raising the lamp throughout but now I try to turn it off every so often and they begin to cry and be all sassy haha much appreciated

 

[AMHARFFEY]

I put mine in the coop inside the brooder box a few weeks after the heat lamp was switched off but it was spring here at the time. For the first few days, I left the brooder box open during the day but had the coop open and the run closed, I would shut them in the brooder of a night until the third night, I found them all roosting on top of the brooder after that night, I removed the brooder and put a roost in but left them locked in the coop for a few more days and then propped the coop door open and let them free range from sun up to sundown and that's how it is every day now.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They're crying because they're used to a light on them 24/7. At 5-6 weeks they really should be off heat, especially indoors. You want to wean them off heat before transitioning them outdoors. How cold is it outside right now?

 

[CluckerFamily]

Do you turn the lamp off at night?

 

[Chickmgnet]

They're crying because they're used to a light on them 24/7. At 5-6 weeks they really should be off heat, especially indoors. You want to wean them off heat before transitioning them outdoors. How cold is it outside right now?

About 40f at moght

 

[Chickmgnet]

Do you turn the lamp off at night?

I have started to. They're coming to now

 

[rosemarythyme]

About 40f at moght

Oh that's not bad. If you had started working on dialing back the heat earlier, they could already outside with those temperatures.

To reduce their heat in preparation for moving out, do some/all of the following:

Continue to raise the heat lamp and/or reduce the wattage of the bulb to drop temperatures, and continue reducing it every 4-5 days.

Turn off/reduce any ambient air temperature around the brooder. Cracking open a window, or not heating the room can help with that.

Take them outside for some play time when it's not rainy or windy. Increase the amount of time they spend out each day so they can get used to the outside temperatures.

 

[Chickmgnet]

Oh that's not bad. If you had started working on dialing back the heat earlier, they could already outside with those temperatures.

To reduce their heat in preparation for moving out, do some/all of the following:

Continue to raise the heat lamp and/or reduce the wattage of the bulb to drop temperatures, and continue reducing it every 4-5 days.

Turn off/reduce any ambient air temperature around the brooder. Cracking open a window, or not heating the room can help with that.

Take them outside for some play time when it's not rainy or windy. Increase the amount of time they spend out each day so they can get used to the outside temperatures.

The window has been cracked as well haha it's good to hear I'm doing something right. That means I just have myself some spoiled chickies but much appreciated. I'm loving this process. Coming from a place as urban as it could get, I'm glad I made this investment