Lighting/ Heat

[kaseywhite]

Thanks again for the info, I will have to make a few more changes to the coop. Im planning to move the girls in soon. Any more advise would be great.

 

[kaseywhite]

So when the girls are 6 weeks old and i move then into the coop should i keep them inside just the coop for a week? Then when they have full run of the coop, do you kèep the food in or out?

 

[jeepguy982001]

some people lock them up for the first week so they get used to the coop as familar and homely. You don't have to lock them up worst thing that will happen is you putting them in there at night until they get the hang of it. As far as heat i don't use any i've seen my chickens out in there run in the single digits. Plus if they get used to the heated warm coop it'll be much harder on them if you lose power like we tend to do around here in the winter.

 

[Life is Good!]

If you put your chicks in the coop at 6 weeks old, you might need to add some heat at night (depending on temps). Our 4wk old chicks went outdoors last May and it was still cool at night, so we kept a heat lamp on them until they were about 10 weeks old (early June). They did fine. But I didn't provide any supplemental heat this winter - didn't need it with full grown chickens, their feathers do that for them! The puffed up like basketballs on really cold nights, snuggled up against one another and were fine.

When we started letting them out into their run when they first arrived (took me a couple weeks to finish the ramp, door and run area so it was predator safe), the first few nights I brought out a treat about 30min before dark set in....some warm oatmeal with raisins, some finely chopped up scrambled eggs, some leftover corn muffins, etc.....so they learned that REALLY good things happened inside the coop about dark. By the fourth night, they were inside waiting for me to bring their bedtime snack! I kept this up until they were nearly fully grown (18wks or so) - just because I wanted them to grow! Now, they get a 'dinnertime' snack....I feed our indoor pets dinner and bring out a snack for the chickens long before dark, but they put themselves to bed just fine. They instinctively know where safety is - and seek it at dark, as they are nearly blind in the dark.

Good luck! Enjoy 'em while they're little! It goes super fast!

 

[Presidential]

I put my chicks in the coop around 3 weeks. With just an extension cord, I hung a 250 red light out there for heat/light at night. Our temps are still hanging around 30 at night. I will do this until the night temps are a little more moderate, but then the light will come out of the coop and they will be on their own year round.

The light helps them into the coop at night. Without it - I had to put them in there one at a time. Now, we have a good routine.

I had an old farmer urge me to "Get them chickens out of your house"! He told me the chicks need the dirt, need to start scratching the grass. I had them out right away and they are very healthy.

(These are my first chicks... So, I am no expert. Just telling my story.)


BTW: we gave them full run, right away - just closed up at night. On cooler days, I would leave the light on in the coop and I would see them go under the light sometimes to warm up. We feed inside the coop - personal preferance. I don't need to attract any more predators with food outside. Coop is secure, but I worry about diggers into the run - have to do some modifications for that, I think.