Is 5 weeks to early to put them in the coop?

[cassandrapettersson]

Can we put the 5 week old chicks in the coop with no heat yet? Obviously separated by the hens. I've been looking at different sources, and I'm getting alot of mixed answers.
Opinions?

 

[cassandrapettersson]

Can we put the 5 week old chicks in the coop with no heat yet? Obviously separated by the hens. I've been looking at different sources, and I'm getting alot of mixed answers.
Opinions?

Sweden, average temprature is 10-13°C currently.

 

[cassandrapettersson]

Sweden, average temprature is 10-13°C currently.

 

[Bertram]

I just put my 5 week old chicks in the coop but it depends on how many feathers they have. The slower feathering breeds would probably get to cold. My birds have a slight heat lamp on them now and they were fine last night (I havn't checked yet this morning). It gets around 10-15 Celsius at night around hear.

 

[cassandrapettersson]

I just put my 5 week old chicks in the coop but it depends on how many feathers they have. The slower feathering breeds would probably get to cold. My birds have a slight heat lamp on them now and they were fine last night (I havn't checked yet this morning). It gets around 10-15 Celsius at night around hear.

They all seem to be fully feathered,
I'll consider using a heat lamp, but it'd be hard considering our coop placement, we're just desperate to get the chicks out of the house..

 

[Party_Chicken]

I just put my 5 week chicks out with a heat plate that I will turn on if it gets under 60

 

[Ridgerunner]

What is important are your low temperatures, not your highs. After tonight, when you get down to freezing, your low is 4C (39 F).

What does the area they will be staying look like in regards to ventilation and wind protection? I've had 5-1/2 week old chicks go through nights at -4 C (25 F) with no supplemental heat. The area they were in had great ventilation up high but no chance of a wind down where they were. Also they had been exposed to colder temperatures earlier so they were acclimated.

I understand your desire to get them out of the house. My brooder is in the coop instead of in the house so I can stay married instead of divorced. That's why mine were so well acclimated.

In my opinion you should be able to safely put them out tomorrow without heat as long as they have ventilation and are out of a wind. They may not be real happy but they should survive. If you decide to use that heat lamp firmly secure it in place with wire or chain so there is no way it can fall or be knocked down. I consider the clamp that came with it to be a danger, do not use it.