I have chicks that are fully feathered out, they will be 5 weeks old this Monday. The brooder is on an unheated uninsulated enclosed porch with a heat lamp. I have the heat lamp keep one corner of the brooder at about 72 degrees. I have read that I can take off the supplemental heat at 5 weeks. However I am in the pacific north west the ambient temp on the porch is about 60 degrees the outside night temps are high 30's or low 40's. At what point can I safely put them outside in the coop with no heat lamp? Do I need to put them in the large unheated garage for a week between the porch and going in the coop. The garage is huge and empty and not insulated so its about the same as the outdoor temps. I have 7 chicks in the brooder but when they are ready to go outside they are being split between two coops. 3 in one and 4 in the other. My neighbor is taking 3 of them. I am keeping 4 of them. Incase breed influences your answer: Coop 1 will have, 1 buff orphington, 1 welsummer, 1 easter egger and 1 rhode island red Coop 2 will have, 1 welsummer, 1 easter egger and 1 delaware PDZ is working well but its an uphill battle and I need a plan on when to move them.
I would keep the heat lamp on them. While chicks of that age can be without heat, I don't think they would do well in 30-40 degree temperatures. I would wait until they were 10-12 weeks of age before removing the heat completely.
All of your breeds are hardy. They should be fine in the daytime, but I'd put a heat lamp on at night. Before you move them out to the coop, I think it would be a good idea to let them be in the garage. This way, they can harden off to the cold temperatures.
By 7 weeks they should be all feathered out completely and should need no supplemental heat. But if they have a heat lamp at night, I would start weaning it slowly. When I have put mine into a cold coop they will sometimes get under a lamp at night, and after a day or two they don't seem to use it. I always believe in a gradual adjustment. At 5 weeks they might need the lamp at night for sure because feather growth may not be complete.
I'm in the PNW also, and in the spring the temps are often the same as now. My 6 week old babies get weaned off the light and kicked out of the brooder and do just fine. I figure it's about the same age my broody hens stop brooding their babies, and if those chicks can handle it the brooder babies can, too.
