hen abandoned chicks, will they need heat?

[Chickstarrs]

My hen had been a wonderful mother until she abandoned her babes 2 days ago. They are 4 weeks old but still seem very small and not really feathered yet. They spent the last 2 nights by themselves huddled in a small pet crate that I covered with a thick blanket. It is supposed to go down to 9C tonight (48F). Should I put a heating pad in with them, or at least on the outside of the carrier to provide a little bit of heat? Here are some pics to show their feathering.


Velvet's last day as Mom.

 

[dennisma1]

I would at least at night. I've only raised chicks by hand, and once they are feathered they do ok by day but they are still babies and not much meat on them . So long as they have room to get away from heat if needed.

 

[sourland]

They should be fine with just the crate to huddle in as long as it is draft free.

 

[Aapomp831]

They don’t need heat. We removed heat from ours at 4 weeks old; we do keep a lamp that doesn’t generate heat on in the coop at night bc they all pile on top of each other in a huddle corner and freak out. Chicks raised by actual hens are far more advanced and cold hardy than chicks you incubate or came from a feed store.

 

[Chickstarrs]

They don’t need heat. We removed heat from ours at 4 weeks old; we do keep a lamp that doesn’t generate heat on in the coop at night bc they all pile on top of each other in a huddle corner and freak out. Chicks raised by actual hens are far more advanced and cold hardy than chicks you incubate or came from a feed store.

They look smaller and less developed than the hatchery chicks did at the same age. I thought it would be the other way around. There are only 4 of them to huddle together.

They should be fine with just the crate to huddle in as long as it is draft free.

There shouldn't be any drafts in the coop but if there is, the blanket will keep them draft-free

 

[Aapomp831]

They look smaller and less developed than the hatchery chicks did at the same age. I thought it would be the other way around. There are only 4 of them to huddle together.


There shouldn't be any drafts in the coop but if there is, the blanket will keep them draft-free

Huddling is not what keeps chickens warm; it’s the combo of feathers and down that retain and circulate heat. If you feel like they aren’t fully feathered it, maybe leave a light but only as an option and give them a large area to get away from it. I see you live in Canada so idk what temps are like there at night right now.
can I ask what you’re feeding them? They may need protein -‘growing feathers requires tons of protein since feathers are composed of mostly protein.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Huddling is not what keeps chickens warm; it’s the combo of feathers and down that retain and circulate heat. If you feel like they aren’t fully feathered it, maybe leave a light but only as an option and give them a large area to get away from it. I see you live in Canada so idk what temps are like there at night right now.
can I ask what you’re feeding them? They may need protein -‘growing feathers requires tons of protein since feathers are composed of mostly protein.

The temp is supposed to go down to 9C (48F) for the next couple of nights. They started with medicated starter for the first 2 weeks until the mom took them in with the flock at which time I switched everyone to grower feed. However it is only 16% protein, which seems kind of low. I gave them some scrambled eggs today. They are out everyday catching bugs too.