Cold weather?

[Gvnam]

Any tips on how to raise chicks in cold weather? What is the coldest they can be out in and at what ages? How long can they be outside for? Anything else I should know?

 

[ChickiKat]

we live in kansas and it gets pretty cold her, we leave the chickens out all the time and do not have a heater in the coop, we do have a heated waterer... we had a lot of snow last winter and no one seemed like it bothered them... pretty resilient birds..

 

[warmfuzzies]

I think the OP was talking about brooding chicks not keeping chickens.

I am also going to have fall chicks for the first time this year and am a little nervous. I have raised lots of chicks but never in the winter.

 

[ChickiKat]

oooohh, I would keep them indoors, brooding til they have their full feathering..

 

[ChickiKat]

and I would wait til the temp outdoors was similiar to the temp you were keeping them at indoors before I put the out....

 

[jmtcmkb]

I live in cold temps (NH) and am geting chicks next week. I visited our local fair last night and visited the 4H building where they are hatching over 100 chicks. I asked what the plan in for these chicks are in this climate. The answer, they go outside in the coop with a heat lamp longer than normal maybe 3 months then a gradual wean off.

I told her I am getting chicks next week, and plan on an ecoglow, she was familar and said use the ecoglow outside for 3 months once they feather and wean off from there, that's my plan

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I give them heat for 2 months. By the end they are on a 100 watt bulb or even 60 for a small coop (weaned).

There are times I bring them in from the garage into the mud room- when it is 10 degrees out, for example. I have been known to go out to the coop and scoop them up and bring them back in if the weather changes rapidly.

I check temperatures carefully and since I only use multiples of 100 watt bulbs (not the heat bulbs) I can titrate the heat as needed. They do well in the garage in a chick-n-hutch with the sides closed in leaving a ventilation space on an upper side. I add shavings and hang the bulbs at least two ways with heavy wire. There is plexiglass in the front.

At three weeks I put them on the ground very briefly as weather permits but they need to be supervised at first because they will freeze to death under the coop and not go back in at that age.

I just read one of the posts above and my climate is very mild- they said heat for three months. I would do that too if it were very cold where I am.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Thanks guys this is helpful!

 

[Gvnam]

@chickensaresweet at 3 weeks, my chickens were finding there way back to the coop... They are really smart

So is it alright for them to be out when they are a week old (supervised) when the weather is 70 degrees and calm?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Yes it's fine but not for too long- I'd say no more than 10-15 minutes. If you ever see a broody hen herding along her chicks she will crouch on the ground to warm them up periodically.

At one week of age they still require 85-90 degree temps (90-95 for the first week of life).