Cold weather for pullets

[ChelsieW]

Hello,
So, I got nine baby chicks. They were hatched on Dec. 2. I have a broader set up in my heated garage and they're doing great. My question is about when I can safely move them to the coop. I had chickens for years and then stopped for a few years and now I'm starting again so I do know how to care for hens but I never had chicks in the winter before.
At what age will I be able to safely put them in an unheated coop? I live in Utah and it's around zero degrees at night here. I've been thinking I would put a wool hen out there. I'd rather not use a light if I can help it. They are still fine in their brooder for now but I know they're gonna outgrow it and there will be a point where I have to move them or make some other arrangements in the heated garage.
Any advice is welcome.

 

[RaZ]

They need to be fully feathered. 6 weeks or so.

 

[aart]

Hooo, rough time of year to start with new chicks!

You'll need to acclimate them to the outdoor ambient temps.
Start turning the garage heat down until it matches the coop temp.
Hopefully your brooder is big enough to have a cool spot as well as a warm spot.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome agree aart heck of time of year to be starting best to wait till fully featherd

 

[ChelsieW]

Hooo, rough time of year to start with new chicks!

You'll need to acclimate them to the outdoor ambient temps.
Start turning the garage heat down until it matches the coop temp.
Hopefully your brooder is big enough to have a cool spot as well as a warm spot.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[ChelsieW]

Thank you. Yes, we have been watching the temp and their behavior very carefully. The brooder is fairly big (at least for now) and they are happy. They don't seem too hot or too cold. I've been lowering the garage heat every week and the brooder has a cooler side. At night, they huddle closer to the lamp to sleep but whenever I go out there during the day they are spread out and seem happy.
They're three weeks old now.
I'm hoping we can keep them in the brooder until the worst of January weather is passed.
Thank you for all the info.

 

[Birdinhand]

my chicks go straight to the coop every time, but I'm not in Utah and it's almost never zero degrees here... makes me shiver thinking about it. I agree that acclimating them to the temps in the garage first would be best. my personal favorite is the mother heating pad, I don't like heat lamps for a variety of reasons. If they don't get much natural light then I'd add a LED light (heating pads and LED's = less fire and burn risk). As long as they have a place to go and warm up, out of draft, chicks can handle venturing out in the cold quite a bit. I've read about wooley hens as well, not sure how the chicks would transition this late in the game. I think wooley hens are more typically used in warmer temps and from day one. whatever the direction you go with, I'd make the transition gradually and watch how they respond, they will tell you if they are unhappy :~)