Heating coop question

[gabz44]

So I know a lot of people are against putting heat in the coop but my 7 week old chicks are used to being inside my house at 70 degrees and I want to wean them off the heat. My husbands allergies are bad so I want to get them outside ASAP. The outside temp at night is about 30 degrees. I had a handyman hang these lights inside and he boarded up the nesting boxes and the entrance to the run (temporarily) so at night there are no drafts other than the holes for ventilation. I plan on using the heat just at night for a few weeks until they are acclimated. What temperature should I be aiming for inside the coop at night?
Also could it get too warm- I tried it out at 5pm without the chicks and it was 48 degrees out but 77 in the coop. Should I lower the wattage ?? I have 250 watt bulbs.

 

[cavemanrich]

Here is my thought..... Turn one light off, preferably the one over the roosting perch. If you see that your chickens are all concentrated under the light, rather than on the perch, then you know they still want the heat. Post some pix of your chickens, Luv to see them... Are they all feathered out well ???
WISHING YOU BEST

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Here is my thought..... Turn one light off, preferably the one over the roosting perch. If you see that your chickens are all concentrated under the light, rather than on the perch, then you know they still want the heat. Post some pix of your chickens, Luv to see them... Are they all feathered out well ???
WISHING YOU BEST

X2

If you find that one light is still too warm and you feel they still need some added warmth lower the wattage.
7 weeks, they should hopefully be feathered out and won't need supplemental heat very long at all.
I also would love to see them.

BTW Cute Coop!!

 

[gabz44]

@cavemanrich@Wyorp Rock
Thank you for the advice!! Here is a pic of them from a week and a half ago- their feathers have come in more Bc I removed the heat lamp in the house. My Easter Egger is missing in the pic - attached a separate one of her (well hopefully her and not him lol)

 

[cavemanrich]

THEY ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOO ADORABLE.............

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Eye Candy!

I'm think the EE is a girl, look at that eyeliner.
Wish you loads of fun!

 

[gabz44]

Thank you

 

[Ridgerunner]

30 degrees at night isn’t too bad. You are a little warmer than I am right now. You might want to put your general location in your profile, it helps with questions like this.

I’ve had chicks 5-1/2 weeks go through overnight lows in the mid 20’s Fahrenheit but mine were raised in a large outside brooder where one end was heated and the other cooled off a lot so they were acclimated. Also mine were “regular” chickens, not Silkies. I don’t think there is any real difference but I’ve never raised Silkies.

I can’t tell how big that coop is but the ideal is to heat one end and let the other end cool off. That way they can self-regulate. It is possible to overheat them but summers can get pretty hot and they do OK. I don’t know what temperature I’d consider too warm. As long as some part of that is below 80 you are extremely safe. They could probably handle much more.

I personally think they would be fine with no supplemental heat but I can understand your concern. I don’t believe in that 90 to 95 and drop it 5 degrees a week, it’s usually too warm. But let’s go through that chart.

0 to 7 days = 90 degrees
8 to 14 days (1 week) = 85
15 to 21 days = 80
22 to 28 days = 75
29 to 35 days = 70
36 to 42 days = 65
43 to 49 days = 60
50 to 56 days (7 weeks) = 55 degrees

I suggest you turn the heat off during the day when you can observe them. That will help them get acclimated plus boost your confidence they can handle those temperatures. They should sleep together in a group but that’s not because they are cold. They just like the company.

I can’t tell the sex of your EE. The general shape looks female. The comb and wattles are encouraging. The upright posture is a little questionable but not convincing. I can’t see the legs well. Heavy long legs are not a good sign.

 

[lazy gardener]

RR nailed the advice. I agree with the assessment on that EE. The stance is troubling! Based on coloring, I'm guessing female.

 

[aart]

The thing to watch in this instance is avoid any drastic change in temp from inside to outside.


I don't believe in 'the chart' either, so post this instead:

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!



...and will add the rest of my chick heat notes:
Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.
......
The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate