Heat, winter and leaving the brooder

[Fnyfce51]

There is alot of information to process and most is the same . My problem is that i get different kind of advice from family and friends who own chickens.
1) keep chicks in brooder with heat lamp and the 5 degree difference a week is one.. i havent followed that. I check and adjust to the chicks behavior and so far that seems to work. It seems that some things there is always room for leeway. A family friend says i shouldnt use a heat source at all if in my home. My common sense says to treat them like a momma hen would. Heat source when they need it and let them roam in brooder.. is it okay to eyeball the temp as long as chicks are comfortable? Do they feather faster if used to lower temps sooner?
2) Ones in the garage are 5 weeks , 95 percent feathered . They went out at 3 weeks , with their heat lamp. Draft free and to me, warmer than my home is kept . I have had them in the coop, and run, for the last week during the day no heat at all. It has been in the 50 to 70 range. They seem ok and go into coop at night , where i scoop them up to go back to garage. Again, i am told i am coddling them and should leave them outside but it has been upper 30s last 2 nights and researching tells me 6-8 weeks and not under 50 degrees.. i am so confused. Are they ok outside if they can tolerate 50s all day? Do they really need the heat source in the garage at this point? When, really, do i listen to book research vs experience? I dont want to hurt them unnecessarily however asp i have to stop treating them like indoor animals. Winter will be here soon.
3)When do you start taking food and water from them in brooder at night? I am running out of room because they are getting bigger. I do not have a large brooder. I have the largest tote i could find , diy'd with a chicken wire top for circulation, and it seems they are happier in day having more room. Dont want them to starve or anything and need them to adjust to new routine for when i do finally coop them.
Okay, shoot me what you are thinking. I am beginning to think that there is no tried and true, just see how it goes kinda thing.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. If you're using a heat lamp, you can turn it off if temperatures are warmer, but that's entirely reliant on if you want to micromanage to that extent or not. Supposedly they do feather in faster if temperatures are lower.

2. Yes you are coddling them, which isn't uncommon for first timers. I do not believe in 5 degrees a week and neither do broody hens. I raise my chicks outdoors with a heating pad and have them fully off heat at around 4 weeks, lows of mid 40s.

3. I stop leaving food and water overnight when they're moved into the coop. As you are using a heat lamp, they should have food and water access the entire time they have the lamp, as the lamp keeps them up artificially at night.

 

[3KillerBs]

How well-feathered are they?

I've had fully-feathered 4-week-olds handling night-temperatures down in the low-40's without problems.

I also had a batch with a couple slow-feathering birds where I kept heat available up to 6 weeks because it took that long for those two birds to be ready to cope without heat even though all the others were sleeping away from the lamp.

I brood outdoors and have a brooder plate, which lends itself to chicks feathering out quickly and acclimating to temperature swings.

 

[Fnyfce51]

How well-feathered are they?

I've had fully-feathered 4-week-olds handling night-temperatures down in the low-40's without problems.

I also had a batch with a couple slow-feathering birds where I kept heat available up to 6 weeks because it took that long for those two birds to be ready to cope without heat even though all the others were sleeping away from the lamp.

I brood outdoors and have a brooder plate, which lends itself to chicks feathering out quickly and acclimating to temperature swings.

These are tge 5 week olds. Some feathering still needed, mostly around the neck and head. They are outside fir the day and the temp is 40 and warming to 67 today. They are getting very difficult to carry into the coop area from the garage..

 

[Fnyfce51]

1. If you're using a heat lamp, you can turn it off if temperatures are warmer, but that's entirely reliant on if you want to micromanage to that extent or not. Supposedly they do feather in faster if temperatures are lower.

2. Yes you are coddling them, which isn't uncommon for first timers. I do not believe in 5 degrees a week and neither do broody hens. I raise my chicks outdoors with a heating pad and have them fully off heat at around 4 weeks, lows of mid 40s.

3. I stop leaving food and water overnight when they're moved into the coop. As you are using a heat lamp, they should have food and water access the entire time they have the lamp, as the lamp keeps them up artificially at night.

So, i thank you for letting me know i am still coddling them. Sometimes you just need people to tell you that, instead of following the book advice. Heating pad? That i haven't heard about. Could it cause a fire in the coop ? Do you drill a hole for the cord? My coops are mass produce kind and wondering how that works?
As for the food , should i then stop heating lamp in the garage at night so they can sleep and have extra room? I do have a roosting bar in the brooder so they can use it or should i just coop them?

 

[3KillerBs]

View attachment 3275057These are tge 5 week olds. Some feathering still needed, mostly around the neck and head. They are outside fir the day and the temp is 40 and warming to 67 today. They are getting very difficult to carry into the coop area from the garage..

They look well-feathered to me. Since they've been outside during the day they've been acclimating and ought to take well to being in their coop at night.

Make sure that they're dry, out of the wind, but well-ventilated and they'll cuddle together all cozy and comfortable.

should i then stop heating lamp in the garage at night so they can sleep and have extra room?

If you're more mentally comfortable doing this for a few days before you put them into the coop it probably isn't necessary but won't hurt.

 

[Fnyfce51]

They look well-feathered to me. Since they've been outside during the day they've been acclimating and ought to take well to being in their coop at night.

Make sure that they're dry, out of the wind, but well-ventilated and they'll cuddle together all cozy and comfortable.



If you're more mentally comfortable doing this for a few days before you put them into the coop it probably isn't necessary but won't hurt.

Thank you so much for the advice! Being in charge of outside animals is very stressful lol i just want them to be healthy and being this close to winter weather is making my brain spin !

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you so much for the advice! Being in charge of outside animals is very stressful lol i just want them to be healthy and being this close to winter weather is making my brain spin !

If you put your general location into your profile people can give better-targeted advice when climate matters.

In my climate I worry more about heat than about cold, but I can appreciate the concern. However, I think that the sooner you can get them acclimating the better -- and having had them outside without heat during the day was exactly the right thing to do.

P.S. Some people recommend huddle boxes for the transition but all my chicks have completely refused to ever use them -- even the ones raised with a brooder plate rather than a heat lamp who might have been expected to grasp the concept of "go into enclosed place and get warm."

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll mainly repeat or reinforce what the others have said.

1) keep chicks in brooder with heat lamp and the 5 degree difference a week is one.. i havent followed that. I check and adjust to the chicks behavior and so far that seems to work. It seems that some things there is always room for leeway.

A lot of the stuff you read on here or hear from others like that 5 degrees a week are general guidelines. None of us know what your brooder looks like, if it is inside or out, what temperatures you are seeing, any of that. The 5 degrees a week is not a necessary law of nature. It is something that if you adhere to it, even if you have a horrible brooder in a bad situation you are probably going to be OK. There is a lot of leeway in most things to do with chickens.

A family friend says i shouldnt use a heat source at all if in my home. My common sense says to treat them like a momma hen would. Heat source when they need it and let them roam in brooder.. is it okay to eyeball the temp as long as chicks are comfortable?

How warm is your home? Is it climate controlled so the temperature is virtually the same day and night? My idea of the perfect brooder is one that has a warm enough spot in the coolest conditions and a cool enough spot in the warmest conditions. I find the chicks are really good at finding the temperature where they are comfortable. I brood outside, there have been times I don't provide any heat at all even to really young chicks. Instead of blindly following a thermometer I find the best gauge is to watch the chicks and trust them to tell you how they are doing.

Do they feather faster if used to lower temps sooner?

I think they do. They can also acclimate to lower temperatures with just a little exposure to lower temperatures.

2) They seem ok and go into coop at night , where i scoop them up to go back to garage.
Again, i am told i am coddling them and should leave them outside but it has been upper 30s last 2 nights and researching tells me 6-8 weeks and not under 50 degrees..

Who cares if someone thinks you are coddling them or not. They are yours and you are the one that has to deal with the consequences. You are not under any obligation to be a drill sergeant and treat them like raw recruits. You are the one doing the work.

In my opinion you are doing more than you have to. I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. They were in a coop with good wind protection down low where they were and great ventilation up high. The reason they haven't been through that at five weeks is because it didn't get that cold when they were out there. Yours are already going into the coop on their own. As long as you have a decent coop with wind protection, ventilation, and predator protection I think they would be fime out there.

When, really, do i listen to book research vs experience? I dont want to hurt them unnecessarily however asp i have to stop treating them like indoor animals. Winter will be here soon.

I don't have a good answer to this. It is a matter of trust. I don't necessarily trust a lot of what people on here say about their experiences. I don't trust everything I read in books or in articles. I guess mostly trust yourself and what you see. Base your actions on your observations instead of what any of us tell you or what you read.

3)When do you start taking food and water from them in brooder at night? I am running out of room because they are getting bigger. I do not have a large brooder. I have the largest tote i could find , diy'd with a chicken wire top for circulation, and it seems they are happier in day having more room. Dont want them to starve or anything and need them to adjust to new routine for when i do finally coop them.

They won't starve if they don't have food in the brooder at night. They don't eat at night if it is dark and a broody hen is raising them. My suggestion ot you is the same as above, when they go to the coop.

Okay, shoot me what you are thinking. I am beginning to think that there is no tried and true, just see how it goes kinda thing.

Exactly!

 

[Fnyfce51]

I'll mainly repeat or reinforce what the others have said.


A lot of the stuff you read on here or hear from others like that 5 degrees a week are general guidelines. None of us know what your brooder looks like, if it is inside or out, what temperatures you are seeing, any of that. The 5 degrees a week is not a necessary law of nature. It is something that if you adhere to it, even if you have a horrible brooder in a bad situation you are probably going to be OK. There is a lot of leeway in most things to do with chickens.


How warm is your home? Is it climate controlled so the temperature is virtually the same day and night? My idea of the perfect brooder is one that has a warm enough spot in the coolest conditions and a cool enough spot in the warmest conditions. I find the chicks are really good at finding the temperature where they are comfortable. I brood outside, there have been times I don't provide any heat at all even to really young chicks. Instead of blindly following a thermometer I find the best gauge is to watch the chicks and trust them to tell you how they are doing.


I think they do. They can also acclimate to lower temperatures with just a little exposure to lower temperatures.


Who cares if someone thinks you are coddling them or not. They are yours and you are the one that has to deal with the consequences. You are not under any obligation to be a drill sergeant and treat them like raw recruits. You are the one doing the work.

In my opinion you are doing more than you have to. I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. They were in a coop with good wind protection down low where they were and great ventilation up high. The reason they haven't been through that at five weeks is because it didn't get that cold when they were out there. Yours are already going into the coop on their own. As long as you have a decent coop with wind protection, ventilation, and predator protection I think they would be fime out there.


I don't have a good answer to this. It is a matter of trust. I don't necessarily trust a lot of what people on here say about their experiences. I don't trust everything I read in books or in articles. I guess mostly trust yourself and what you see. Base your actions on your observations instead of what any of us tell you or what you read.


They won't starve if they don't have food in the brooder at night. They don't eat at night if it is dark and a broody hen is raising them. My suggestion ot you is the same as above, when they go to the coop.


Exactly!

I have decided since cold snap is over ( mid 30ish) at night to go ahead and let them sleep in the coop.. this leaves room in the garage for me to put the 3 week olds in the garage..if they seem to be struggling i will take them back into the garage.. this week is mid 60s to 70 day and mid 40s at night.. fingers crossed another question? I have 3 ventilation windows . 2 across from each other and the 3rd is on the back..do i need all 3 open for ventilation or is the 2 across from each other enough and do i leave them full open at night or partially closed? Thank you for the advice!