Incubating Cot eggs next week, will this plan work?

[amandacv86]

So I'm going to hatch some Cot eggs next Monday or Tuesday. Just whatever my 4 hens produce by then plus I'm planning on buying some from someone to add new bloodlines so my batch doesn't get too inbred...

Anyway, It's getting cold soon, and while I know keeping them indoors is doable, I'd rather keep them in my aviary over winter. The aviary is too far from the house to run a cord out there so I can't just put them out there after the brooder(unless I'm wrong?)

So my plan is to make a hutch out of the old fence we need to take down, and put right outside of a window so I can run a light out and temporarily keep them in there until they're acclimated to outdoor temps.

If this makes sense, I would slowly turn the light lower 5 degrees until they're at room temp indoors, then make the light in the hutch outside the same temp as room temp inside. Then when they're outside I'll slowly turn the light down until they no longer need it.

I hope that made sense. Does that sound like a plan? TIA

 

[Weirdness555]

This sounds ok, my only suggestion would be if you had a conservatory or garage which gets cooler temperatures than the main house, this would make a good step to go outside. It would get cold but not wet, we use our conservatory as an acclimatiser

 

[amandacv86]

I was planning on putting the brooder in the bathtub in the back of the house that gets really cold in the winter anyway. Long story short we live in an 86 year old fixer upper and can't find a small enough water heater for that bathroom which is why we don't use it. I'm sure we could have by now but haven't looked too hard because we're starting with the front of the house first, Thanks!