decreasing heat and light

[bzmom6]

Another newbie here with 11 RIR layers and 5 cornish cross - all at 6 weeks old.
They've been under a heat lamp 24 hrs/day since arrival which has been raised weekly, gradually lowering the temp to about 70 degrees.
They were moved to a shed last week - it has 2 windows for natural light/ventilation and is insulated.
How and when do I go about moving to a 60w bulb and giving them some darkness??????
I'm in central NY where winter temps are in the 20's.
Also, when are they ready to have daily free access to their run. Currently, we let them out for a few hours at a time on nicer days.
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!!

 

[Luckytaz]

You can do it now. They should be well feathered by now.

 

[bzmom6]

Thanks for your help luckytaz...a couple more questions...
Will they need the 60W 24/7 thru the winter?
If not, how do I introduce darkness?

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Not 24/7--maybe 12=14 hrs depending on where you live. They'll adjust to the light whatever you do but don't need 24 hrs of it. With the breeds you have no heat will be necessary.
BTW, where do you live in CNY where it's in the 20's already. We just got our first frost in the western Catskills.

 

[bzmom6]

Thank you woodmort. Being new to this, I'm concerned I'm going to kill the little things by making a mistake.
Your reply is greatly appreciated.
We're in the Syracuse area and we just got our first frost, too.
Sorry for the confusion - I was referring to what our WINTER temps WILL be.

 

[woodmort]

Ok, we'll be down to about 8 hrs by Dec which, IMHO, is not long enough for the birds to get enough to eat to be healthy. In spite of what some write about birds needing a winter "rest" period or they'll burn out, we are dealing with animals whose original stock came from SE Asian where they have 12+ hrs of daylight year around. Mine seem to do well on 14 hrs from Sept through April. I use a GE Bright Stick florescent fixture(mine came from WalMart) on a dual timer--on at 6 off at 9 on at 4 off at 8--gives them summer daylight hrs.

BTW, I expect temperatures down to -20 in January and don't use any heat except for waterer heaters.