Can I turn the light off yet?

[Kaitie09]

My cornish x are 5 weeks old. All of them are fully feathered except for their butts. I turn the light if during the day, but am wondering about night now. It drops down to about 30 degrees here at night on average.

 

[bigredfeather]

They don't need it anymore. Typically you can remove it at 3 weeks or sooner if the weather is warm.

 

[jessicayarno]

Mine are 4 1/2wks old and i still have a heat lamp on them at night.. It drops down into the 20's some nights so i plan on leaving it on them until close to processing or when i notice that they don't need it. They still huddle together under it at night so i know it is just too cold to take it away.. If you think they still need it by all means keep it on them.. I look at it like I would rather the food be converted to meat than fuel to keep them warm..

 

[Recon]

They'll gain weight faster with the light on, but some people feel that increases the mortality. I've tried it both ways and I can't really see a direct link to increased mortality from the light. I can, however, see a direct link to lower weights at butchering when I don't have a light for them though.

You probably haven't needed a light for a long time.