Girls first night out in the cold coop....worried!

[pseudoyams]

So today I moved my 15 hens outside to their coop. Its supposed to hit the 30s for the next week so I thought itd be a good time for the move. Plus the coop has lots of windows so theyll get some good passive solar heat from the sun. They are 3 months old now and were living in my garage in a pen heated to around 43F. I moved them out there this afternoon. Its about 30F in there right now and Im sure itll drop more tonight. I put a heat lamp in there with them and gave them plenty of bedding. They were pretty vocal when I went out there to check on them a little bit ago. They were all stuffed into one of the corners...one of the corners away from the heat lamp?! Whats the deal with that? Should I move it to where they naturally go huddle? Granted, it is around the time they go to sleep, but I thought theyd be under the heat lamp. I put some extra straw around them but couldnt break them up to put some in the corner where they were stuffed. Some of them are also stuffing their heads underneath other chickens? The coop is pretty well sealed except for a slit along the top of the roof that is about 8ft by 1inch or so. I dunno... Im kinda worred about them being out there tonight and the stress they are having cause they sounded kinda ticked.

Anything I should be aware of on their first nights out there?

 

[jenjscott]

I have some in a pen with an open coop built into one end, and they sleep outside on the wire bottom, opposite the coop, all piled up. It has been below 20 and they have been fine. yours should be completely feathered by this time, I think they will do fine.

 

[SmartyChick]

It is probably more stressful for you than them. Pig pilling in the corner is norm, it keeps them really warm. With a heat lamp, they will be fine! My flock is in an open air coop and they do not seem bothered at all by the cold.

 

[kota1369]

They will be fine. It sounds like your like me and you worry about them lots. I had mine in the garage because of single digits and a small coop. They were not happy with me but I had one with some frost bite and was not going to put myself in the position to feel bad for them. So, in the garage they went. Was it the right decision? I dont know. It was a pain, but I didnt wake up worried about them. It is finally in the 20's and 30's here and they are back outside in their pen. I do know that they are ok with these temps. Have gotten to see that first hand. The one thing you need to make sure of is there is enough ventalation in your coop. Humidity can cause them respitory problems.
Also, make sure the heat light is safely and securely hung. I have also used bottles full of very hot water. And that seems to help quite abit.

The lady with 4 dogs and 4 city chickens