Are 12 week old puletts old enough for cold weather in coop?

[VCChick]

This year we went straight from 80's to 60's to 30's in two weeks in the NE Pennsylvania. It will be 35 degrees tomorrow at 7 AM. I've had my pulett's out during the day for 1 week. Then the next week day and night. But tomorrow its hitting the 30's. Is that enough time for them to acclimate to that low of a temperature or should I put a heat lamp out? Thanks

 

[redsoxs]

They are fully feathered so they will be fine. Is your coop draft free (but still ventilated)? If so, they will huddle together and they will be fine.

 

[VCChick]

Yes. Ventilated and draft free coop. It just got cold fast. I thought they would be ok. Just worried because it got cold so darned fast. Just wanted to be sure they would be acclimated enough. Thank you!

 

[Jensownzoo]

I put my pullets outside on a 70 degree day when they were 8 weeks old this past March. It snowed the next day. They were fine. I was a wreck, but they were fine!

 

[azygous]

Forgive me, but this is sort of like asking if your 17 year old is ready to walk to school on their own.

At three months, you should be very confident those "kids" of yours are going to be able to handle a bit of a cool night, fully outfitted as they are in layered feather jackets. They were more than ready at five weeks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s a good question. If you don’t know it would be silly not to ask. But yes, at that age they can handle that much of a temperature drop in the coop you describe, much like the wild birds you see. My guess is that they will be outside during the day if you give them that option. They really can handle cold well.

 

[VCChick]

Yep. They did fine. It only went down to 40 degrees...but still cold. It's been windy here for several days. They mainly stay under the coop during the day cause of the wind I think. Thank you everyone for answering. Sometimes you know the answer but it is nice to hear other peoples opinions for reassurance. I haven't had chickens since I was a kid. So everything is new again. We purchased chickens this year. I have some older in different heavier breeds. These dominiques are much different lighter birds. They look more fragile. I have Jubilee Orpingtons and 2 Cream crested legbars going through a molt. My youngest Jubes are 4 weeks old. I've put them out on some nice days in a pen. I am tempted to start putting them out in the chilly weather to start getting used to it. But they are not fullly feathered. The Jubes seem to take awhile to get their feathers. The only reason we waited so long to put the doms out is their coop wasn't built yet for them. They were so small I couldn't even put them out in a puppy pen like I did for the young Jubes. Jubes don't feather out early but they get bigger faster. Lot's of bone on them. I hatched the younger jubes in the bater so no Momma to run with and keep warm with. Thanks again for making me feel better. I am sure I'll be nervous about putting the younger Jubes out to once it is time.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Yep, that's why I waited until 8 weeks until mine went out...no coop! Nowadays they get the boot at three-ish weeks if they don't have a broody mama.

 

[VCChick]

My hubby has been busy building a 3 unit coop for the different breeds. It's taking longer than we thought. But at least the dominiques can be in there. The rest have a coop to go into until the rest is ready for them. Wow! 3ish weeks old. Thanks again.

 

[azygous]

Your not-fully-feathered chicks will benefit from early exposure to cooler temps by having their feather growth stimulated. This is to say, gradual acclimatizing will cause feathers to grow in more quickly.

The secret to doing this without over-chilling your small ones is to avoid cold drafts and wind. A partially feathered chick will do fine away from a heat source for spells, but a chilling breeze can suck their body heat away very quickly, and you do not want that to happen.

I've watched day-old chicks frolic away from their heating pad cave or broody hen on a chilly 50 degree day without any apparent discomfort. I raise my chicks outside right in my run with just a heating pad for them to warm up under, and just recently watched a single chick being raised by a broody hen. Broody raised chicks do not spend four weeks, day and night, hiding under their mama.

Chicks are tougher than we sometimes give them credit for.