Please help, is it safe for the babies too.......

[dandydoodle]

I have some babies that are 2 months and 2 weeks. Are they old enough to stay out in the coop at night or do I need to put them back in the brooder with the heat lamp at night? The low tonight is gonna be 43 degrees.

Thanks,

 

[dandydoodle]

anyone know?

 

[thekid]

heat lamp time.

 

[dandydoodle]

How old do they have to be before I can leave them out without a heat lamp?

 

[SueBaby]

Are you saying some are 2 months and some are 2 weeks? Or is it 2 months plus 2 weeks = 10 weeks? 2 months or 10 weeks, they can probably handle it. 2 weeks, no way.

Personally, I'm not a fan of drastic changes. If they've been in your brooder with a heat lamp every night up until now, then you have to ask yourself if tonight is the night to let them out. Is there some kind of happy medium you can find?

 

[lolita117]

They need to be fully feathered before you stop using the heat lamp at night.

 

[Pele]

The number of chickens you have also really factors into this equation too. If you have a batch of 100 2 week old chickens, and a sheltered coop, then you can get away with it because they'll all cuddle and generate enough body-heat to get through.

If you only have 5 2 week olds, and 5 2 months olds.... you're going to end up with some dead chickens.

 

[dandydoodle]

I have 4 babies that are 2 month 2 week.

 

[rancher hicks]

When I use a heat lamp I keep a thermometer at chick level. Raising it by 10 weeks I would say 43* at night should be about it. I've read to brood them at 95* and then reduce it by 5* each week so , that's 95,90,85,80,75,70,65,60,55,50.

I worry when folks refer to their birds as "babies". They are not babies, but if you choose to spoil them then it is up to you of course. Just be aware that you can kill them with kindness and I dare say many have.

Love them like babies but treat them like Chickens,

Rancher

 

[Ariel301]

I would absolutely have chicks of that age outside already, and without heat unless we had a sudden extreme drop in temperature or they somehow got wet . But you can't just dump them from a 90+ degree brooder (I never brood mine that hot either!) into a cold coop and expect them to be fine. They have to be adapted to the temperature, so if you have not had them out already, you need to take a couple of weeks and gradually wean them off the heat lamp (if they are using it full-time in their brooder) and get them accustomed to the outdoors and lower temperatures, exposing them to a little more time outside/lower temperatures every day until they are able to handle it.