Cold weather coming, safe for 6-7 wk old chicks????

[cjeanean]

The weather is getting down to 28 degrees in the next day or so, and I've got my 6-7 wk olds in the coop. I have a hanging brooder light out there (see pics in this thread)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=44312

And a carboard box under the light to trap heat. There are 20 of them in the coop, and it's a 8x16 coop. I've got lots of litter down for them, and I've got GreatStuff insulation filling all the cracks so no wind gets in. Is it safe, or should I bring them in????

 

[Cheryl]

As long as they have about 70 degrees available to them under the light (is it a heat lamp?) I would think they should be fine

 

[twigg]

At 6 to 7 weeks they should be fully feathered. If so, and if they are well fed, then 28 is not going to harm them.

Keep the coop well ventilated, the inside will stay above freezing in any event, but keep an eye on their water, just in case.

Even in the wild, 6 week old chicks are not uncommon at this time of year, and frosts happen.

 

[cjeanean]

Thanks, I just want to make sure I don't walk in tomorrow to see a bunch of dead chicks!!!

 

[Frosty]

One year I got some chicks in mid Sept, and got the heat lamp away as quickly as possible. By Thanksgiving, they had a 100 watt bulb for heat and it was 8 degrees out (North Dakota), the building that they were in wasn't as tight as yours sounds. They did fine, just had to change the water a few times s day to replace the ice with water. Check on them as it cools down to make sure they aren't piling up... if they do the ones on the bottom could suffocate.