Night temperature advice needed

[Ruralhideaway]

So my chicks have moved out to a big brooder pen in the coop this week. I think they are 6 weeks but don't have a hatch date. They weren't under a light indoors anymore, just a nightlight. Window was left open in nighttime temps down to 40s. They were roosting on indoor brooder sides.
My dilemma is now that they are outdoors I've been leaving a 100 watt bulb on over the brooder at night. Just a trace of warmth at the height it's set at. Do I need to? It's been unseasonably warm but should cool off to 40s at night soon.
Thanks! Pic to show how they are feathered up.

 

[Lauren Kim]

They should be fine- I also had Barred Rocks when they were chicks and we moved them out when they were 8 weeks old. They should be fine, though, because adult barred rocks are cold-hardy. If you see inactivity, move them inside for a little bit. A heat lamp will also help.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I have the heat lamp right there, easy enough to use it if needed. I think they are getting less sleep with that 100 watt bulb on them but seems like they might need some light still.

 

[kwhites634]

So my chicks have moved out to a big brooder pen in the coop this week. I think they are 6 weeks but don't have a hatch date. They weren't under a light indoors anymore, just a nightlight. Window was left open in nighttime temps down to 40s. They were roosting on indoor brooder sides.
My dilemma is now that they are outdoors I've been leaving a 100 watt bulb on over the brooder at night. Just a trace of warmth at the height it's set at. Do I need to? It's been unseasonably warm but should cool off to 40s at night soon.
Thanks! Pic to show how they are feathered up.
View attachment 1146404

Chickens are pretty hardy, normally; they can take a lot of cold if they're dry,out of drafts, & fully feathered. I'd "harden them off" by getting them used to cooler nighttime temps gradually, & put the light away; they don't need it.

 

[Lauren Kim]

I agree. Light can give em stress when their trying to sleep, so maybe get them used to the temperature.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

The room they were in inside was pretty cold at night, same as outside temps. This heat wave we are having might have undone that hardening off though. I think I'll switch to a night light in the coop, not the brooder, if that seems ok.
Also, when do you think I can introduce them to the shelf and big roosts? They are quite high, shelf is 40 inches so nearly 5 feet to roosts. Ramp will be done today probably.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your six week old chicks are hardened off. Don't worry about that. I've had chicks a few days younger than that go through nights in the mid 20's with no supplemental heat. The coop they were in had good ventilation up high but great breeze protection at their level. They do not need a nightlight or supplemental heat. If they have never been in total darkness they may be upset the first time they experience it but they will quickly get over it.

I have no idea what your coop looks like, if you could post a few photos we may be able to comment on that better. Normally my brooder raised chicks don't start to roost at night until 10 to 12 weeks old. I have had some start at 5 weeks, some go a lot longer before they start, but 10 to 12 is a good average. They will perch up there during the day but that's just play. Roosting is when they spend the night up there. Until they start to roost they sleep in a group in a low spot, either on the coop floor or, especially with an elevated coop, maybe on the run floor.

At six weeks they are perfectly capable of flying a lot higher than 5 feet. It's a matter of whether they want to or not, not a matter of ability. I know people love ramps on this forum. For Silkies they are often necessary since Silkies can't fly. But for most other chickens that are unnecessary as long as your coop is big enough they can spread their wings and fly up and down. There are times a ramp is quite useful but inside a larger coop I just consider them to be in the way.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Great info thanks I'm taking it all in. Sounds like i don't have to baby them much anymore. Here are coop pics of the brooder set up with lamp compartment, poop deck(about 40 inches high) with exterior clean out door above, roosts not installed yet. Ground level 9 x 10 indoors plus run. Pardon the dust, these are still in process of building.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I like your set-up. Have you considered putting the light on a timer so they have more natural "day cycles"?
My chicks have a Mama Heating Pad (MHP) for heat in the brooder, which is out in the barn but right in front of the windows on the south side. My brooder is one of those store-bought "chicken coops" that the previous landowner left for us. No supplemental light, they get up with the sun and go to sleep when it sets. At 1 week old, most were sleeping on top of the MHP instead of under it. At 2 weeks old, they were starting to fly around the coop. I have 6 egg layers and 4 broilers - I think the broilers are little furnaces for the layers, I would see the little ones come up and snuggle up to the fatties to get warm and then dart off to play/eat. At night, the bigger broilers have little chicks tucked up close - it is really cute.
When I go to feed them in the morning, if the sun is up, so are they - chirping/scratching/running around. If the sun hasn't risen yet, they are still pig-piled and quiet.

 

[debid]

Put the light away.

I used a mama heating pad in the outdoor brooder last spring and mine went to the roost at 4-5 weeks. I left the pad in place for night 2 because we had a cold snap and I wasn't sure what they'd do with the day being 40s and the night dropping to the 20s but they still ignored the pad and chose snuggling close on the roost. I guess when they're done, they're done!