Hello from new member, question on how low brooder lamp can go

[Cheryl]

For "piece of mind" Radio Shack sells a remote digital battery
thermometer with humidity...so one end is in the coop and the other sits in my kitchen

 

[damselfish]

Thanks everyone! The chicks made it through the night just fine.

I admit that I got up and checked on them at 10 til 5 this morning, after a dream about goats and cats invading the coop (we own neither goats nor cats).

They were all still pretty close under the light, looking just a bit disgruntled, and the one that caught sight of me through the window gave me what seemed to be a look of pure chicken disgust.

However, they're up and running around beautifully this morning, so all is fine.

chickman04, here's some more background info so you can compare:
The chicks are just over 3 weeks old. The coop is a new 8x8 wood coop, good and tight, but not insulated at all. It is raised off the ground on piers so the cold air does circulate under it. We have about 2 inches of shavings on the floor. We're in Southwest Missouri and the temperature last night was in the high 20s, plus wind chill. Hope this helps!