how soon w/ no heat

[okto]

ive got four chicks about four to five weeks old.

three australorps and one orpington. they are pretty well feathered, except
for their heads which are going through the ugly stage.

they spend all their days out in the yard and have been for about two weeks.
they live in a 4' x 2.5" coop in the yard. the coop has small windows up top on
opposing sides. the windows can be shut at night. the floor has about 5" of
bedding (pine shavings). during the day my temps run about 70-80 and
at night about 60.

i have a 100 watt red heat lamp that i have used since they were little and we
still turn it on at night.

can i stop with the heat lamp at night?

by the way, anyone in los angeles/southern california looking for a black
australorp cockerel? oh well.

 

[allen wranch]

They are almost fully feathered and should be fine at night without the light. If you want to wean them from the heat a little, use a lower wattage light bulb for a few nights.

They may freak out the first time you completely leave them in the dark. All my coops have night lights so I can see what is going on or check on the chickens at night. They don't seem to mind the dim light if you want to try that.

 

[chrissieg]

I'd say you have enough chicks for them to huddle if they are cold.

If you want to give them just a little heat try a plug-in dimmer switch.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, I suggest a dimmer switch, it will also help with them getting used to the getting dark thing. Just dim it as night approaches and after a few nights, turn it completely off.

 

[okto]

not one to coddle my chicks, i turned off the light last night

no problems whatsoever

thanks all, freedom from the extension cord

 

[ChickenGuy]

My chicks just turned 3 weeks two days ago and they got kicked out to the coops with no suplemental heat (too far away to run an extension cord). The first night it hit 50, and last night it got down to 46, No losses though!. All chicks have survived and seem to be doing great. I was very worried, but all is now well. The parents kicked them out of the basement, The dust the created was clogging the furnace/AC filter and they said they had to go to the coop this weekend no matter what the temp was. Tonight its supposed to reach a low of 60, but after going through a low of 46, I'm not worried about much anymore, Three week old chicks are much hardier than they look.

 

[motherhen]

My chicks are 4 1/2 wks old and they have been living in the coop for about 2 wks. I have to layers and 2 meats. When it started getting smelly they were sent to the coop. Also, I have 3 bantam hens about 1 year old or older in the coop. I set up a dog cage in side and fill it with straw. This allows the chicks to run to safety if the bantams pick on them. Also, it keeps more heat inside the cage.
When it gets really cold I feed the chicks some bread to warm them up and the heat from the meat birds keeps the other 2 chicks warm when they huddle.