First night out

[Velvetchick]

Hello, first time poster here ( since the intro). Just wanted some professional chicken advice. This is my first time raising chickens. I have five 5 week old chicks that look fully feathered. I am trialing their first night out tonight. I put them in their coop to sleep with a heat plate with a towel draped over it and turned the light out.
At first they did their typical yelling, but they all settled down and started trilling happily. When I looked inside, they had all gathered together in a little comfy pile...next to the heating plate. I tried getting them under the plate but they just went back to their little pile. Are they warm enough without the plate? I feel no drafts in there and my thermometer is reading about 55 in there I believe. I live in washington and the outside temp is 48 degrees.

Also the current temp in the coop is likely due to the heat lamp I turned off to put them to bed.

Should I worry? Or should their quietness and trilling indicate to me that they are OK?

Thank you in advance! I'm just nervous as heck!

 

[Velvetchick]

They seem happy and I read a few more similar posts. Sounds like they will use the heating plate if they need it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They're old enough to not need the heat plate. If it makes you feel better to keep it in there for a few more days, by all means, do so, but by their actions they're telling you they're fine without it.

 

[Velvetchick]

They're old enough to not need the heat plate. If it makes you feel better to keep it in there for a few more days, by all means, do so, but by their actions they're telling you they're fine without it.

Thank you for your response I checked on them 2 times throughout the night and they seemed just fine. This morning they were happy as can be !