Cold weather area owners, I need advice!

[JoJoM]

I live just outside of Ottawa, Ontario Canada. The weather currently fluctuations from around 15c to -10c overnight (59-5f). I have chicks currently living in my basement that I would really like to move out to the coop. Chicks are 7 weeks old, fully feathered and the coop is fully insulated. My husband hung a space heater in it in case the nights drop but I don't want to have to run it all the time.

For those of you who live in cold areas, when do you put your chicks out? Will they be okay outside? The coop, unheated, was about 0 this morning when I went out to check but I could probably get it up to 10 or so. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Tre3hugger]

At 7 weeks, fully feathered, I think they will be ok. Maybe buy a thermostat plug for the space heater, so it only turns on at night if it gets below freezing. In a week or two even that will be overkill IMO.

 

[JoJoM]

At 7 weeks, fully feathered, I think they will be ok. Maybe buy a thermostat plug for the space heater, so it only turns on at night if it gets below freezing. In a week or two even that will be overkill IMO.

Thanks for responding. It looks like we have one more really cold night this week so maybe I’ll move them out on the weekend.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Have you weaned them off supplemental heat entirely or do you still have a heater with them in their current *brooder set up? I'm just north of Barrie and have some 6 week old barred rock babies out in the coop, I think I've used heat twice in the last two weeks.
What breeds do you have? And more importantly does your coop have proper ventilation? Insulation isn't super important as long as your ventilation is good and your set up is draft free. Its amazing how fast moisture can build up.

 

[JoJoM]

I don’t have any heat in the brooder anymore, it’s fairly warm in the basement 69 -70 ish. We need to add a vent near the top of the coop but for now sill just crack a window.

They're all mixed breeds - autralorp/cochin/orpington from what I've been told.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

They really should be okay as long as cracking a window doesn't mean allowing a draft in. I'd use the heat plate for the first few days out there to give them time to adjust, and then start turning it off during the day and only leaving it on for the nights once you have a good idea of how their fairing (and the weather isn't calling for a sudden drastic drop of 15c in a 2hr period) and then weaning them off of the heat entirely. You've got some pretty cold hardy mixes there that should be just fine in our climate once they settle into their new accommodations. Chickens are amazingly warm little things! If I were stranded in the bush I'd be overjoyed to have a chicken to snuggle, my dog isn't even as good a hand warmer as those fantastic fowl!

 

[JoJoM]

They really should be okay as long as cracking a window doesn't mean allowing a draft in. I'd use the heat plate for the first few days out there to give them time to adjust, and then start turning it off during the day and only leaving it on for the nights once you have a good idea of how their fairing (and the weather isn't calling for a sudden drastic drop of 15c in a 2hr period) and then weaning them off of the heat entirely. You've got some pretty cold hardy mixes there that should be just fine in our climate once they settle into their new accommodations. Chickens are amazingly warm little things! If I were stranded in the bush I'd be overjoyed to have a chicken to snuggle, my dog isn't even as good a hand warmer as those fantastic fowl!

Im going to wait until the weekend, big drop overnight Thursday but I will make sure to warm it up for them. Fingers crossed for spring and no surprise April snowstorms.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Real spring before May would be beautiful, wouldn't it? This weekend should be perfect for starting them outside! There's no telling which way the weather will swing next week, but that should be an excellent start to life in the coop for them! Be prepared for them to cry their little lungs out once you try to lock them in for the night! Every time I have to move a batch out I feel like I've left my children in the territory of the boogie man!

 

[tannsyim]

Im going to wait until the weekend, big drop overnight Thursday but I will make sure to warm it up for them. Fingers crossed for spring and no surprise April snowstorms.

Oh no, I am just reading this and i live outside Ottawa aswell and realized the west side ottawa got surprise snow even in may. I hope the chicks are alright. I have baby silkies ( 6 weeks) and not sure when I will be able to leave them out with our nights being quite cold still.

 

[JoJoM]

I put those chicks out since about a week after that post. My youngest ones are just 6 weeks now and have been out in the coop for two weeks. I did have a space heater hanging in the window and warmed up the coop once or twice for the nights we fell below 0, but they probably didn't need it. Our coop is fully insulated which helps. All of the chicks are fully feathered, I have no experience with Silkies though.