Inside brooder to outside coop

[ElizabethRanch]

Our chicks are about 7 weeks and pretty feathered out. We are excited to introduce them to their coop in our extra horse stall but I’m a bit worried about the cold nighttime temperatures in Colorado. We got chicks that can handle the cold but they have only been inside our house so far. I turned their heat lamp off a week ago but they are still in a heated home.
Any suggestions? Do I need to move them inside for nights that are below a certain temperature? Posts say to not use heat lamps in a coop but if I’m careful about placement in the stall I think that will be safe. Thanks for your help!

 

[3KillerBs]

Fully-feathered chicks can be moved outside after weaning them off their heat.

And yes, it is possible to set up a safe means of using a heat lamp in the coop -- hanging it from a secure chain rather than from it's insecure clip and making sure that it's well away from any potentially flammable materials and making sure that no chickens can onto/into the lamp.

 

[blackdog043]

I would put them out, if they have been weened of of heat. You could put a huddle box inside the coop, so it's there if they want to use it. A huddle box is just a box with a hole cut out for them to go into to keep warmer. I wouldn't use a heat lamp, if you do, secure it 3 different ways and make sure it isn't close to anything burnable! Fires are a real concern when using them!

 

[jenlt]

Our chicks are about 7 weeks and pretty feathered out. We are excited to introduce them to their coop in our extra horse stall but I’m a bit worried about the cold nighttime temperatures in Colorado. We got chicks that can handle the cold but they have only been inside our house so far.
Any suggestions? Do I need to move them inside for nights that are below a certain temperature? Posts say to not use heat lamps in a coop but if I’m careful about placement in the stall I think that will be safe. Thanks for your help!

I always keep my new chicks brooder inside the house in a spare room. When they get to be pretty feathered out on warmer days, I'll take them out into a blocked off area in the main coop for a little while so they can start acclimating to the weather & the other chickens. Each day I'll have them out a bit more. After about a week, I'll leave a window in their room barely cracked at night so they start getting used to the night time temps & after another week, will open a little more.

By the end of the 1st week of being out during the day, I generally leave them outside all day & bring in at night.

Colorado is much colder than California, so the drastic change from being inside at night & then outside during the day may be a bit much, so again, leaving the window cracked will help them transition.

 

[aart]

I turned their heat lamp off a week ago but they are still in a heated home.

Can you close off the room and open a window?
Adding a huddle box in to the brooder now would be good.