Are My Little Girls Ready???

[bearsgirl]

I live in Central Texas and my little girls are now 5 weeks old. How cold is too cold at night for them to be allowed to stay out in the big coop at night? Right now the temp for this week is getting down to the low 50s. We have a heat lamp out there for them but so far they have been staying in the house because they are not all fully feathered. Any advice???

 

[Happy Chooks]

Take them off any light source indoors to get them used to cooler temps. Then next week, they should be fully feathered and you can move them to the coop with the heat lamp. The week after that you can wean them off the heat lamp.

I have 7 week old chicks outside and they have been without a light for almost a week now. We had snow last night and they were all fine. (I'm in CA)

 

[bearsgirl]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[TeriNick50]

We moved our girls into the coop, from the garage, when they were 4 weeks old.
Low temps at night were high 50s/low 60s.
No heat source in the coop - stopped using heat source in garage at 3 wks old.

 

[bearsgirl]

Thanks! We have moved our girls out during the day with no heat lamp and everything seems to be just fine. They get all excited when they get to go outside. I was just a little worried about night time.

 

[TeriNick50]

Don't worry!
See my BYC page for a time frame journal of what we did with our chicks.
Good Luck ... and Have Fun!

 

[bearsgirl]

Update......My little girls are doing great! They spent last night in the coop with Ms Sally and Mr Roo. I put a heat lamp on them and let them out to roam in the run this morning. They are so cute.....

 

[Happy Chooks]

 

[lemurchaser]

If your heat lamp is warm enough outside, then they can go out anytime. Mine go out at 2 weeks, but there is a heat lamp until they are at least 6 weeks. It is usually around 40 F here during the day.

 

[toddy111]

Would anyone advise using a lower watt bulb in the brooder first instead of just going from a 100w bulb to no bulb ?
Hope this is clear, it sounded alrite in my head

Oh wait i just realised you move the bulb or make it dimmer for less heat..

Never mind