How cold is too cold to keep mom and new chicks in the coop

[ChickenTenderNow]

My 6 month old hen recently went broody in late september IN COLORADO... AND NOW HAS 11 chicks a weeks and less under her. We have been keeping them outside with her in the coop with 1-3 headlamps depending on the day. Tonight is supposed to be our first really cold night. It is WINDY and suppposed to be getting down to the low 20's. I I can normally keep the coop 30-40 degrees warmer than the outside bu tg bbn I am wondering at what point if any, I should just bring them all 12 inside.

The momma is a silkie (so small)
but she did astonishingly manage to keep all 15 eggs under incubated and alive till she was done sitting on them. We did help her out with a single heat lamp on cold 30-45 degree nights then.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't worry too much. A hen can keep the chicks warm to very cold temps. Add that chicks just aren't that fragile. If they can occasionally run under the hen to warm up, they can run around in the cold for extended periods.
I had a hen hatch chicks in November once and it got down to low teens. I wasn't worried about the hen being able to keep them warm but I did add a heat lamp above the food and water so they could eat and drink in peace.
Eventually it got down near zero and I took the chicks away to brood them indoors. I don't know if it was a mistake or not but after it warmed up about 10 days later, I moved them back outside. I took them out in a cat carrier. At the time, the mother hen was off foraging with her flock. I'm sure she thought she'd never see her chicks again. She heard the chicks and came excitedly running to the carrier. She never forgot them and I could tell she was ecstatic to have them back.

 

[RainbowHen]

Keep in mind that it is only going to get colder. If you don't get the chicks used to colder weather they will be reliant on heat all winter. What happens if you lose power? Chicks allowed to experience cooler temps will feather in faster and be more able to cope with the environment.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Things can go wrong indoors, too. It is quite possible, and common, to raise chicks safely in an outdoor coop.

Yup.

Right now I have 6 chicks that are 7 weeks old and 2 that are 8 weeks old. They went straight to the coop at 3 days old.

I do have ONE heat lamp that was on the very end of their starter brooder (2'x6'). They now have full access to the 6x8 coop and run. They pop under the lamp if they need to but are mostly spending their time in the run.
Our temp this morning was 20°F. They ALL ran into the run when I opened that door. That coop has open sofits so does not build heat at all. Just that one warm(ish) space under that lamp.

That lamp is secured by chains.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I personally would bring them inside for a little bit. The chicks should almost be fully feathered in a couple weeks but I would personally still sleep better if I knew for certain everyone was warm. But this is just me

 

[chickenhappy1233]

I personally would bring them inside for a little bit. The chicks should almost be fully feathered in a couple weeks but I would personally still sleep better if I knew for certain everyone was warm. But this is just me

x2 if the chicks are not under her for the whole time they could die in 20 degree weather. i would bring them in and let them back out to the coop when they have a full set of feathers

 

[21hens-incharge]

Even though it is low 20's outside... the coop is buttoned up and cozy and chicks are running around. Relieved that 76 degrees is the lowest it got in there last night.

That is way to warm to be keeping the coop. No one will be ready if power fails.

Running just ONE heat lamp is risking a fire. Running 3 is beyond comprehension.

How big is the coop?
How are you hanging these heat lamps?

Are the birds able to get completely away from them?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your Silkie is almost certainly a bantam. Eleven chick is a lot but they are probably bantam too. That's not as bad as regular sized chicks under a bantam but it's still a lot of chicks and they will grow. With fewer chicks I'd say don't worry about it, I don't know of she will be able to cover them all in a few weeks though. I normally set 12 eggs the size she normally lays under of broody but in this time of year I limit that to 8. Winter and cold weather is harder.

I also use heat lamps, I don't freak out about them the way some people do. People have been using them for over 100 years. They work. But I will freak out about one thing. You said you are using those clamps. Throw them away so you are not even tempted to use them. They are a danger and i think cause most of the issues with heat lamps and fires. Use wire to hold them firmly in place. Then use a second wire as a backup. Do not use string or plastic that can burn or melt, use wire. Make darn sure those lamps are secure.

If they can get away from that heated area they will acclimate. My brooder is in the coop, I put chicks in it straight from the incubator even when the outside temperatures are below freezing. One end stays toasty but the other end might have ice in it. Usually around 5 weeks I stop supplemental heat but if it is below freezing I usually go 5-1/2 weeks.

I really do not throw those clamps way. I store them in my workshop with my other clamps. They sometimes come in useful for other things but not for supporting heat lamps. I consider that dangerous.

 

[NatJ]

Even though it is low 20's outside... the coop is buttoned up and cozy and chicks are running around. Relieved that 76 degrees is the lowest it got in there last night.

If you were using that coop as a brooder with no hen, you would be fine with ONE heat lamp heating ONE small space to 95 degrees at chick-height, with feed and water near the outer edge of the lit/heated circle, and the rest of the space as cool as it naturally gets.

Given that the chicks do have a mother hen, I would certainly go down to one heat lamp, and adjust it to provide a single warm area near the food & water, instead of trying to heat the whole space.

The more they have access to cool space, the more quickly they will grow feathers and be able to deal with cold. And as long as they can warm up whenever they want (under the hen, or under a heat lamp), they will not be stressed by having cold areas available to play in.

 

[Taylor39]

Our Silki hatched chicks about 3 weeks ago (Colorado). We haven't used any heat assistance during incubation or since hatching. They go everywhere with her, including foraging in the snow. When they are cold she warms them up and they go back to running around. We've had many nights into the teens (lowest was 9°) and had two blizzards, but even when the water freezes in the coop babies are still good in the morning. We haven't lost any!

Mama does way better than a heat lamp and babies are feathering much faster than the chicks we have raised indoors in a brooder. They are stronger, healthier, friendlier and so happy! I agree with everyone who posted that providing heat keeps the babies from getting used to the cold, our chicks are already getting a nice bunch of feathers.

Any research I have done indicates all our girls (including babies) should be fine until Temps get near -20, which does happen here (but rarely) so we're definitely keeping a watch for all our girls and especially the babies. Hope this helps anyone else in cold temps with babies.