Getting my chicks to the coop

[kincannon]

So I live in Central Oregon and the nights are still getting down in the low 30's. My chicks are almost 5 weeks old and seem to be pretty feathered out. Can they withstand that kind of cold? The coop is insulated, but there is no electricity. Should I keep them in the garage longer?

 

[lizch]

Are they under a heat lamp in the garage? Day and night?

 

[kincannon]

As of now, yes they are under the light and it stays between 60-70 in the brooder.

 

[lizch]

What I wish I'd done is take a week between them being heated indoors and being out in the coop to wean them off the heat lamp. I ended up moving the heat lamp with an extension cord out to the coop because they were clearly too cold. After 10 days in the coop, I now turn the heat lamp off during the day and am very close to removing it at night.

So maybe turn the lamp off in the garage for a week and then move them out? Kinda like hardening off plants

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Precisely!!!! The step most folks miss. Turn off the lamp, if indoors, or move to a medium cold garage that is attached, or lower the wattage to 40 watts or any combination to make an in-between step of adjustment. Chickens that are 6 weeks old and feathered can take 20 degrees, but they must adjust to those temps, step by step, over a week's period.

 

[Pele]

Im in Idaho, and we're sharing Oregon's unseasonably cold weather! When my chicks got 6 weeks old, I started to bump them outside during the day, and rounding them up (with bribes) and putting them indoors at night. It's worked really well, and after a week I felt completely comfortable just letting them stay all night in the coop.

Now I'm working on my second round of chicks in the same manner.

Don't tell my DH that this is how I will be treating the third round of chicks, he doesn't know about them yet