Coop Temp./ Heat lamp

[bbutts]

My chicks (3) are 9 weeks old, and are in thier coop. I still have a lamp on, but am starting to think I can turn it off. I'm in Saint Paul, MN, where nights will soon be in the 30s, with the days up to 40-70.

Do I ween them from the 250 watt heat source, or just have them go cold chicken?

 

[chick007]

i am in anchorage,alaska my month old chicks are in their coop and i am slowly hardening them off it gets down in the 30s at night and50s during the day. i am only running one 125 watt brooder lamp and the coop stay a nice 70. when they finish getting all their feathers will have coop down too around 50 cant let thier water freeze. hav.e my light on thermostat so just keep lowering temp once a week

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yes, you should be aggressively pursuing getting them hardened off. I do this at 5-6 weeks. My only advice is to get on with it. Lower the wattage to a 100 watt bulb for a few nights, then, that's it. Hopefully, the night you choose to end it, the lows will be in the high 40's. They will be fine. It only takes 3 or 4 days for them to adjust. It was 70 for a high today in northern Michigan and our low last night was 50. That kind of weather is flat balmy and the chicken need no heat with those temps.

Soon, the high will be in the 20's. You have time to get them feathered up and down overcoated.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The weather channel is calling for your highs to be in the low to mid 70's over the next few days, with lows only in the low 50's. These are ideal temps for you to drastically cut back on the heat lamp and end it by later this week. They will not suffer at all. Plus, it will save your electric bill.

 

[LEJMEGA97]

Thanks. I adjusted the lamp tonight (moved it up about a foot). It still has the 250 on it, but I will buy a lower wattage in the next day or two.

With milder temps this week, I'm glad I asked this question when I did.

Thanks-

 

[Elmntal]

How old do chicks need to be to handle night temps in the forties?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Chicks at 6-8 weeks can typically handle 40 degrees temps just fine, if, if they have had time to adjust. A chicken has a down coat and keep themselves warm to temps below zero. But, they need time to grow and fluff their feathers appropriately. A typical brood hen kicks her chicks out of the nest at 5 weeks. That ought to teach us something. Go from a 250 watt to 100 watt during week 5. By week 6 drop the wattage to 60 watt. (These are rough estimates) At the end of week 6, if the temps are still in the 60s by day and 40's at night, they will be just fine without any artificial heat added. They are now large enough to huddle without suffocating each other.