Moving to the coop

[kristen9907]

My chicks will be 5 weeks tomorrow. What does the consistent temp have to be outside before moving them to the coop?

 

[Dutchmother]

I want to know the answer to this, too!

 

[lazy gardener]

If they have been properly hardened off, and your coop is not breezy at floor or perch level, they should be fine no matter what the temp. If you are concerned, you can give them a huddle box. Block off your nest boxes until they are perching every night.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

'Hardening off' is more important than the actual temp.
What that means is they need to get used to the temp that it is outside.
If you keep them too warm in the brooder in the house,
then they won't be too comfy in a much lower temp outside.

I started keeping them as cool as possible after a few days old.
I open windows in brooder room to keep it as cool as possible in there when close to taking them outside. Also take them out to the day pen with a huddle box to experience the outdoors.



Gonna be lazy too and paste my whole chick heat blurb here, hopefully that will help.
Chick Heat

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate


Huddle Box
Make them a 'huddle box', put it in the brooder after turning off the heat(you might have to 'persuade' them to use it) then move it out to the coop with them.
Cardboard box with a bottom a little bigger than what they need to cuddle next to each other without piling and tall enough for them to stand in.
Cut an opening on one side a couple inches from bottom and big enough for 2-3 of them to go thru at once.
Fill the bottom with some pine shavings an inch or so deep.
This will give them a cozy place to sleep/rest, block any drafts and help hold their body heat in.