Moving chicks to coop

[kirak74]

Our chicks will be 4 weeks old on Monday and are currently residing in our bathtub
We have guests coming next weekend and need to get them out of the guest bathroom and into the coop. They are getting lots of feathers but still have fuzz on heads and undersides. The temperatures next week will still be pretty cold at night (26-32 degrees). My initial though is that is still too cold for them to not have a heat source so my plan is to run an extension cord and put their heat plate in the coop so they have a source of heat. Does that sound OK? Any other ways to make sure they stay warm enough? Don't want to go out one morning and find chick-sicles.

 

[Kiki]

Sounds like a great plan to me.
I am not sure what a heat plate is....
is it the same as a heating pad?

 

[lazy gardener]

Have you weaned them from heat in the tub? The next step after that is to put them out in the coop/run every day, and bring them back inside at night. You can give them a huddle box (do a topic search) in the coop while blocking off the nest boxes. After a few days of this, you might try an overnight in the coop with the huddle box, It should maintain enough body heat to keep them warm overnight.

 

[chickens really]

Our chicks will be 4 weeks old on Monday and are currently residing in our bathtub
We have guests coming next weekend and need to get them out of the guest bathroom and into the coop. They are getting lots of feathers but still have fuzz on heads and undersides. The temperatures next week will still be pretty cold at night (26-32 degrees). My initial though is that is still too cold for them to not have a heat source so my plan is to run an extension cord and put their heat plate in the coop so they have a source of heat. Does that sound OK? Any other ways to make sure they stay warm enough? Don't want to go out one morning and find chick-sicles.

Sounds great...........They will be fine.....If cold they will go to the heat plate.....


Cheers!

 

[kirak74]

There is no heat in the bathroom but it rarely gets below 50-60 degrees in there because the rest of the house is heated. They are using a heat plate instead of a lamp for warmth. Should I start taking that from them during the day? I like the idea of the huddle box. The coop isn't finished yet so I can't take them out there during the day yet.

 

[debid]

Our chicks will be 4 weeks old on Monday and are currently residing in our bathtub
We have guests coming next weekend and need to get them out of the guest bathroom and into the coop. They are getting lots of feathers but still have fuzz on heads and undersides. The temperatures next week will still be pretty cold at night (26-32 degrees). My initial though is that is still too cold for them to not have a heat source so my plan is to run an extension cord and put their heat plate in the coop so they have a source of heat. Does that sound OK? Any other ways to make sure they stay warm enough? Don't want to go out one morning and find chick-sicles.

It seems easiest to me to move their heat source with them. It's true that they could probably get there by huddle box but they'll harden themselves off even if you give them their familiar heat plate and it's less risky for chicks that haven't finished feathering.

FWIW, the mama heating pad and Premier heat plates are hot enough to use out in a coop from day 1. EcoGlow isn't (requires ambient temps above 50).