Moving to the coop (night time lows in the high 30s)

[DelcoChix]

Just throwing in my 2cents worth from your other 'next-door-neighbor,' over here in the Buckeye State about the feeder and waterer in coop or run...I do have mine in both coops, for a couple of reasons. Visiting sparrows were cleaning them out during the day--I don't mind feeding the wild birds at the wild birdfeeders...not my Layena. That combined with wet weather made it necessary to move feeders inside. I only have one run for the bantams that's covered/enclosed, so I do leave the water out in that one, but feeder is inside there too--mainly because of a terrible experience with marauding raccoons that slaughtered my dd's bantam cochins, Sultan and Silkie in their search for food (they were able to climb a 7' fence, push open a chain link kennel door and then lift up the guillotine door to find them....
Anyways, if your runs are enclosed and varmint proof you are in good shape...if not....

 

[HenriettaPlume]

I was nervous too when I did it last year with my chicks. Don't worry, they will be just fine. The only time I leave food and water in the coop at night is when I know they will be snowed in the following day. Leave the coop for resting, roosting.. and of course laying those eggs!!!! As long as they are fully feathered,, you'll be amazed at how resilient they are. I live in NY, and our winter was awful, many many sub freezing nights. I never put a heat lamp in. As long as they are protected from the wind, but with good ventilation above for the moisture to escape, you will never have any trouble with them being too cold.

Good Luck!

MB

Thanks so much. It's just so hard to let these babies go, after nurturing them for these past several weeks. I'm so grateful for your encouragement. And I know they are too. They love it in the coop, (they've made several visits) and are probably more ready than I am to make the move!

 

[HenriettaPlume]

Just throwing in my 2cents worth from your other 'next-door-neighbor,' over here in the Buckeye State about the feeder and waterer in coop or run...I do have mine in both coops, for a couple of reasons. Visiting sparrows were cleaning them out during the day--I don't mind feeding the wild birds at the wild birdfeeders...not my Layena. That combined with wet weather made it necessary to move feeders inside. I only have one run for the bantams that's covered/enclosed, so I do leave the water out in that one, but feeder is inside there too--mainly because of a terrible experience with marauding raccoons that slaughtered my dd's bantam cochins, Sultan and Silkie in their search for food (they were able to climb a 7' fence, push open a chain link kennel door and then lift up the guillotine door to find them....
Anyways, if your runs are enclosed and varmint proof you are in good shape...if not....

Thanks so much for your response. My coop is pretty solid. We dug down a rat wall, and reinforced wire mesh on all outdoor walls. So the run is completely enclosed. I plan on putting the food from the run in a tamper-proof container overnight.

I guess I was asking about the food in the hen house because I wasn't sure if my chicks were past the "need access to food at all times" stage. If they can go overnight without, then I don't have a problem keeping it out of the hen house.

Here's a pic of my coop:

 

[Kandire]

I just put mine out in the coop full time this weekend. We've been getting high 30's low 40's for our overnight lows and my girls are doing great without their heat lamp. Still working on building our run (but they desperately needed more space than the brooding box!) so right now their food and water are in the coop. Thinking I'll put it in the run once we get that built just to keep the coop clean as possible.

 

[Melabella]

Thanks so much for your response. My coop is pretty solid. We dug down a rat wall, and reinforced wire mesh on all outdoor walls. So the run is completely enclosed. I plan on putting the food from the run in a tamper-proof container overnight.

I guess I was asking about the food in the hen house because I wasn't sure if my chicks were past the "need access to food at all times" stage. If they can go overnight without, then I don't have a problem keeping it out of the hen house.

Here's a pic of my coop:

Lovely setup! Good info from DelcoChix, I bring in my food to the barn feed room at night, and into a metal garbage can it goes. My run is galvanized 1x1, good for big critters but know the little field mice can get through and eat to their hearts delight. When I head out to put my children on the school bus, they get fed fairly early. I've even got pretty confident and left the coop door open when it is warm, so they are always in the run waiting for their food when I come out. They are sleeping all night on the roosts.. they go into that zombie sleep mode until the sun peeks out. It is funny...

MB

 

[DelcoChix]

Sounds like you are all set! Your coop and run is lovely and looks like you have the varmint protection area covered!
Good luck getting your babies acclimated--I'll be doing the same with my newest batch of young-un's in 3-4 weeks, although 4 of mine (have 21 babies total) are a result of a successful experiment with my little Silkie, Guac,when I stuck 5 eggs from my big girls (EE and Blue Copper MaransxBlue Splash Marans rooster) under her when she went broody on me last month--was shocked and thrilled that four of the five hatched. Her babies are out with her every day in their run and back up in the bantam coop under her fluffy body every night. No worries about when they go out--she's taken care of that decision

 

[HenriettaPlume]

Thanks everyone for your kind replies! I moved the girls out to the coop on Saturday night. It dipped down to 34 degrees! I was sooo worried. I checked on them three times during the night, and each time they were snuggled together in a pile of feathers. I'm happy to report they did wonderfully! Since then, they remain out in the coop. After that, the temperatures at night have been in the 40s to low 50s. The chicks sleep in the same spot on the floor, all cuddled together.

At first, the chicks did not want to come out of the coop in the morning, but after some gentle encouragement, they now walk out on their own once I open the door. They also walk themselves back into the hen house at sundown. I found them sleeping in there tonight just after the sun went down.

 

[cornishhen]

This is my first time with chicks, too. I just moved mine out to the coop today. I'm on Ohio, so it's still chilly here, too. My chicks are 6 weeks and have been off the heat lamp for probably 2 weeks already. They have been in our unheated garage the entire time. We used an Ecoglow during the day and the heat lamp when we were home to keep an eye on it, and I think that helped get them adjusted to cooler temps faster. They never seemed to gather under the lamp from the beginning, so we weaned them off early, I guess. Tonight is their first night out in their coop and I have checked on them several times. I'm so proud of them. It is chilly out and dark, but they are not fussing at all. They didn't freak out when we put them in there. They seemed at home right away. At bedtime, they all cuddled up in the middle of the floor. I'm guessing they're scared, but I think mostly they enjoy the extra space and will keep each other safe and warm. We didn't put any light or heat in there because they have done so well in their brooder without. If it gets super cold out, we'll put the heat lamp in there, but hopefully we can just let them adjust to their new home as is. We do have the food and water inside the coop right now because our chicken yard isn't done yet.

 

[HenriettaPlume]

This is my first time with chicks, too. I just moved mine out to the coop today. I'm on Ohio, so it's still chilly here, too. My chicks are 6 weeks and have been off the heat lamp for probably 2 weeks already. They have been in our unheated garage the entire time. We used an Ecoglow during the day and the heat lamp when we were home to keep an eye on it, and I think that helped get them adjusted to cooler temps faster. They never seemed to gather under the lamp from the beginning, so we weaned them off early, I guess. Tonight is their first night out in their coop and I have checked on them several times. I'm so proud of them. It is chilly out and dark, but they are not fussing at all. They didn't freak out when we put them in there. They seemed at home right away. At bedtime, they all cuddled up in the middle of the floor. I'm guessing they're scared, but I think mostly they enjoy the extra space and will keep each other safe and warm. We didn't put any light or heat in there because they have done so well in their brooder without. If it gets super cold out, we'll put the heat lamp in there, but hopefully we can just let them adjust to their new home as is. We do have the food and water inside the coop right now because our chicken yard isn't done yet.

 

[cornishhen]

Oh, thank you!! I did notice mine trying out their wings right off the bat, too. Someone even found their way up to the roosts because there was poo on the poop board we put beneath them! I definitely think they are happier and enjoying the extra space, even if they have to snuggle on the floor these first few nights. They do seem to adjust a lot quicker than I thought they would. Glad everything is going well for you and your girls, too!