How to safely transition chicks to unheated area?

[Raubkatze]

My chicks are in the living room right now, and while I knew what I had signed up for as far as the mess, the smell is getting to be a lot despite cleaning the brooder out daily. I have a fan running to help circulate air, but it is only helping so much. My whole house kind of smells like chicken right now. I have a summer kitchen (early 1800s house) that I would love to move them to. It is not heated. Temps are currently in the 40s and 50s with overnight lows in the 30s, sometimes high 20s. They are 4 weeks old and have a brooder plate. Some of them are looking very feathered. Is there a safe way to transition them to this unheated room?

 

[500Chickens]

do you have pictures of the most feathered ones and the least? could you put a heat lamp in the summer kitchen? how old are they?

 

[tviss711]

My chicks are in the living room right now, and while I knew what I had signed up for as far as the mess, the smell is getting to be a lot despite cleaning the brooder out daily. I have a fan running to help circulate air, but it is only helping so much. My whole house kind of smells like chicken right now. I have a summer kitchen (early 1800s house) that I would love to move them to. It is not heated. Temps are currently in the 40s and 50s with overnight lows in the 30s, sometimes high 20s. They are 4 weeks old and have a brooder plate. Some of them are looking very feathered. Is there a safe way to transition them to this unheated room?

Maybe I’m not as careful as I should be, but my 4 week old chicks were out in the garage without heat for a week (probably mid 50’s?), and now they are outside. They’ve been fine at 39 degree nights and are experiencing their first rain storm today, with no issues or shivering. The most important factor is whether they have enough feathers to help maintain their own body heat. If they are mostly feathered out, it helps them to keep the heat close to their body rather than it dissipating away and making them cold. We like to make sure they have full crops at night, especially during the transition, so they have calories to burn and help keep them warm. They also snuggle with each other.

You may also offer them a “snuggle box” as they transition out of heat, which is basically a cardboard box turned upside down with one of the long sides cut out such that they can crawl under at night, it helps trap heat closer to them and keep them snug while they get used to not having supplemental heat.

 

[Yardmom]

If you put the brooder plate out with them or a snuggle box, they will be fine.

 

[NatJ]

I have a summer kitchen (early 1800s house) that I would love to move them to. It is not heated. Temps are currently in the 40s and 50s with overnight lows in the 30s, sometimes high 20s. They are 4 weeks old and have a brooder plate. Some of them are looking very feathered. Is there a safe way to transition them to this unheated room?

Safe way to transition them: assuming you have electrical power out there, move the chicks and their brooder plate. Done. (Well, move the food and water too. But I assume that's obvious.)

At some point after that, you can check on them before sunup (when temperatures are about as cold as they get) and find where they are sleeping. When you reach a point that all chicks are sleeping away from the brooder plate instead of underneath it, you can take it away, because they obviously don't need it.

 

[Lrnadoon]

Maybe I’m not as careful as I should be, but my 4 week old chicks were out in the garage without heat for a week (probably mid 50’s?), and now they are outside. They’ve been fine at 39 degree nights and are experiencing their first rain storm today, with no issues or shivering. The most important factor is whether they have enough feathers to help maintain their own body heat. If they are mostly feathered out, it helps them to keep the heat close to their body rather than it dissipating away and making them cold. We like to make sure they have full crops at night, especially during the transition, so they have calories to burn and help keep them warm. They also snuggle with each other.

You may also offer them a “snuggle box” as they transition out of heat, which is basically a cardboard box turned upside down with one of the long sides cut out such that they can crawl under at night, it helps trap heat closer to them and keep them snug while they get used to not having supplemental heat.

I love the idea of a snuggle box!

 

[Raubkatze]

do you have pictures of the most feathered ones and the least? could you put a heat lamp in the summer kitchen? how old are they?

I kind of forgot about this post. I am STILL waiting to move them out of my living room. They are big, and now very feathered. 6 weeks old. Temps are still about the same. 50s during the day, and anywhere between 25 and high 30s at night.

 

[500Chickens]

I kind of forgot about this post. I am STILL waiting to move them out of my living room. They are big, and now very feathered. 6 weeks old. Temps are still about the same. 50s during the day, and anywhere between 25 and high 30s at night.

oh yeah, they are definitely ready to go outside.

 

[Raubkatze]

oh yeah, they are definitely ready to go outside.

Should I move them from the house to an unheated area and then the coop, or straight to the coop? I don't want to shock them going from a heated 68 degree house. This is our 10 day weather report:

 

[UnicornYarnFarm]

I put mine from inside to outside with similar temperatures, not as cold at night, but with the brooder heater on the wall of the coop. They were fine and came right outside in the morning no problem. After 3 nights of heat I turned it off.