Have to move outside, but temps from 20 degrees to 80 degrees!

[KirstenColorado]

Ah, lovely Colorado weather. I have three hens who will be 7 weeks old this week, and 15 chicks that are 10 days old. The older gals have played outside during some days, but all nights spent inside.
With the older gals getting big, bringing/keeping them inside while it snow and sleets with huge winds (like today) is necessary, but they LOVE being outside at anything from about 60 degrees and above. They come back inside every evening for the night, though; it's been freezing, or way below at night. It's not uncommon to have an 80 degree day, then a day where the high temp is 30 (during the day!!) until June.
A month from now, I have to go on a week-long business trip, so they'll ALL have to be in their outside coop/area 24/7. They should all be feathered out, but I wouldn't plan on a night that gets anywhere above 40 degrees until June--and probably a cold snap that drops nights back into the 20's.
I'm scared to hook up a heat lamp or anything that could be a fire hazard (and they won't need it next year, usually, since they'll be "grown ups"), but I can't imagine having ANY of them have to put up with such lousy weather on some days.
Biggest questions: for the 7 week olds, when should I attempt to sleep at night knowing that I've forced them outside all night

....for example, it's 28 degrees with freezing rain and wind tonight--they are absolutely sleeping inside the house in their brooder (but there are only three of them, so while crowded, it's only temp)
For the almost two week olds (15 of them!), how am I going to help them survive while I'm gone? I'll be transitioning them for playtime outside this week, but only for a few hours a day.

This is just about as nerve wracking as when I brought my newborn (human) baby home the first few nights. Heck, he's 12 now, and it's still nerve wracking!
TIA~
Oh, have I mentioned how scared I am of anything electric or potentially fire-starting in the outdoor area/coop?

 

[sonjab314]

A heat lamp is about your only option that I can see. Try to put it out there a few days before you leave so can keep an eye on things and ease your worries. I use a heat lamp in my coop with no issues at all. In fact I think Im putting my chicks outside today with a heat lamp because I have goslings coming tomorrow and I need my brooder for them.

Good luck to you in whatever decision you make.

 

[WindyHillFarm]

I'm guessing someone is going to be looking in on them? If so, you can try a couple of things I've done (I am really afraid of heat lamp fires and will not leave a lamp on when I'm not there to supervise.) First, hot hands - the little heat packs for your pockets - are great for chicks. Activate them, wrap them up in in an old t-shirt, and put them in with the chicks. Chicks will sit on them when chilly. The second thing I do is put a jar full of boiling hot water in with the chicks. This of course has a lid on it, and is wrapped up in an old towel. Chicks cuddle up next to it when feeling cold. I've insulated the brooder (made with storage bins that have lots of 1/2 inch holes drilled in them) by wrapping a couple of quilts around in cold weather.
Alternately, you could get one of the heat lamp free brooder heaters. I've seen them on the chicken chick's website and think they have ads for them here, too. Hope this helps and best of luck with your chickies!

 

[KirstenColorado]

!

 

[WindyHillFarm]

Cute house! It doesn't look like my idea will help you though. I wonder if you can get someone to take your littlest chicks in for the week you're gone? Maybe keep their brooder in the garage?

 

[Blooie]

I put my chicks out last year when they were 5.5 weeks old. I had to - I couldn't handle the dust in this small house anymore and I had 22 of them. Our coop wasn't even finished. But out they went. I put a heat lamp out there for them and I put a wireless thermometer out there as well, with the receiver on the nightstand next to my bed. BIG mistake. I kept watching that temp in the coop drop.....all the way down to 20. I kept jumping out of my nice warm bed and running out there to check on them. They were fine. I, on the other hand, was freezing! They weren't anywhere near the heat lamp - they were sleeping in puddle of feathers right in front of the pop door. Next night, exact same scenario, except I only got up to check them once. As soon I as I woke up on that third day, I took the heat lamp out. They weren't using it anyway and I wasn't risking a fire. That night it snowed. And we got our last snowfall on June 6th. If I'd kept them in "until it was warm enough" they'd have begun laying eggs in the brooder. They thrived. Wind, snow, cold, even an ice storm - they still spent the majority of the day in the run and started roosting on their own at night in the coop.

Fast forward. This year I brooded my 2 groups of chicks outdoors in a pen in the run from the start, with no heat lamp and no night lights. The temperature under their heating pad cave averages 82.9 degrees. They have thrived. They are active, healthy and curious. They feathered out quickly and beautifully. Nighttime temperatures here have ranged from 19 all the way up to a balmy 25. They spent most of their time out of the cave, exploring their surroundings and watching the Big girls, who could see them as well. Integration went well....by 5 weeks old they were evicted from their cave so the newest batch of chicks could use their pen. We haven't lost a single chick. I live in Northern Wyoming.

One night when the newest babies were just a few days old, we lost power sometime during the night and slept through it for hours. The power coming back on is what woke hubby up and he woke me up. We ran out there when the winds were howling at 60 mph and the snow was blowing sideways. (This was during the storm that caused the big truck wreck on I-80 near Cheyenne a couple of weeks ago, so it was a doozy.) The cave retained enough heat to sustain the chicks very well. Got the heating pad turned back on and when we went out at a more sensible time of morning they were just fine - eating and running all over the place.

Relax - they'll be fine, especially since you have one group at 7 weeks now and the other almost 2 weeks. I would think the 7 weekers could even go out now as long as your coop keeps them nice and dry and they have no direct drafts on them, but I tend toward the "early eviction" side. The longer they are dependent on heat, the harder it will be on them without it. Mine have been away from any heat source for a couple of weeks, and they are now 7 and 8 weeks old. The tiny babies are 3 weeks. In a month, when you have to leave, they'll all be a month older too, so you'll have one group that's 11 weeks old and the other will be 6 weeks old. The weather will be a month warmer too. I suspect that your biggest problem won't be the chicks handling the weather - with the age span it will probably integrating the younger chicks with the older ones. These little characters are far tougher than we give them credit for.

 

[chicchic25]

@ Blooie.... It's funny you mentioned a night light. Our girls are 5 wks 2 days old and are still in the brooder inside our house. We turned their heat lamp off 4 nights ago (room temp stays at 70) but for the past 2 nights theyve been so rowdy and wont settle down at night as they usually do. My husband asked if they could be afraid of the dark, I laughed but then, yep you guessed it.. I got up ans put a night light in the room. Wow! They settled down almost immediately and we've had peaceful nights once again. Do you really use night lights and for how long? They move to their coop this coming weekend and we can put one in there if necessary just wasn't sure if this is a habit that we really shouldn't start??

 

[donrae]

Great advice Blooie!

 

[KirstenColorado]

Hi Booie (and all!)
Thanks for the coop comment....it's actually what I call the "transitional coop"--I made a big shed coop that the older ones are used to being "banned" to during daytime storms that isn't in the pics

. Ain't purdy, but I'm kinda proud of it! I did read your earlier heating pad/cave post (even if you don't take credit for it, I applaud how well you did it, and hope your dear hubby recovers.
And WOW! Northern Wyoming! Okay, I'm not complaining now! I spent a couple of months in Gillete, and I appreciate the tough western stock of all living creatures there! The almost constant wind is what really got to me. My mom's family goes back several generations throughout WY, so you good folks hold a special place in my heart.
I'm feeling a little more comfortable with all of the sweeties. I forgot how fast they rush into full feathers and growing up so fast. Looked back at my calendar and remembered that it's practically overnight. Gonna miss the fluff ball stage!
I'll keep the brooders available downstairs so my neighbors who will check in can decide if they need to hang out inside at any point, but I don't think they will. The big coop will be large and covered enough for next winter, just not completely at that point yet.
If anyone else wants to chime in, go for it. Thanks to each of you for the input!
K

 

[Varglet]

You could always make a base waterer heater from a cookie tin and a lamp kit and use that for extra warmth if they need it. It says you need a drill, but if you're really careful, you can use a good knife to make a hole (I don't have a drill, so I had to do it this way).

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/11/make-cookie-tin-waterer-heater-under-10.html

Depending on the size of the tin, and the bulb used, it can get hot. But if placed on a paving stone or something similar, with a waterer on top, it's only warm to the touch. Plus you don't have to worry about frozen water.