I read a few posts about people putting their chicks out into the garage or other chilly night time spot with a brooder light for heat. What I'd like to ad to that thought is how do you guarantee that the light will either not burn out or get broken or other power interruption issue and freeze your chicks? The reason I mention this is that I happened to have two lights over my little guys in a back bedroom and was happy that they were in fact in the house as one of the lightbulbs in the brooder lamps I had burned out and if the chicks had been outside I'd have had chicksicles this morning. I also had a time that the power cord got pulled out of the socket (by a dog stepping over it) just enough that the light went out. Please always have two lights or check regularly or something to make sure that your heat sources are on and working! Don't just assume that because you turn a light on over them in the evening that it's going to stay that way all night.
That is very good advice, and something I had never considered. You are right-even if they are inside, if a bulb goes out, they could be too chilled. They would naturally huddle together to keep warm, and depending on the setup and number of chicks, some of them could sufficate in the huddling process.
I have always kept my chicks in the garage. I have two lights as well. I love my chickens but I wouldn't let them in the house. Well if it goes under 20 I will.
I put my chicks outside at 2-3 days old. They live in the main coop out of the wind. I have a ecoglow brooder set on the lowest setting and a 250W lamp set at 2.5-3 foot off the ground pointed in the area of the ecoglow. The larger month old chicks sit on top of the ecoglow and the littlest ones huddle under it. I have not lost one yet and have about 40 out there now and adding daily. The little guys seem to like it better out there too. As soon as they are eating, drinking, and pooping in the house I move them out. They seem to get less pasty butt too when they are out there. I put shavings and grass hay down and they love to play with the older chicks and learn how to be a chicken in the making.
