8 weeks old and lows in the 40's OK without heat in coop?

[dbounds10]

Its raining and COLD in Fort Worth Texas tonight. The girls have been out in the coop for a few days now and its gonna be in the low 40's tonight. Do I need to schlep out in the rain and put the heat lamp in the coop??

I'm a nervous nelly

 

[JulieNKC]

They have all their feathers by now so as long as they've had a few days to get used to it they'll be fine. It's cold here tonight too, mine are 5-8 weeks and are outside without any heat.

 

[nanawendy]

Also, as long as they are dry and out of any draft they should be fine.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, so long as they are dry, out of the wind, and have a crop full of feed when they go to roost they'll be fine.

 

[plucker]

My 6-7 weeks chicks have been outside in TN (similar weather) for about 10 days and they are doing great. I open the coop windows when the sun hits it and closed them after dark when they go inside.

I introduced my chicks to the coop for about 3-4 days without letting them out into the run so they could get used to it. When I finally let them out in the run, they immediately knew where to go at night or in cold, rainy weather.

At 6 weeks they love to run and fly a bit so it's great to get them out of the brooder.