Question about mama, chicks and brooder

[FisherMOM]

I brought mama and her chicks in the house as it is in the 30s outside. The babies hatched yesterday.

DO I need a light on them even WITH mama in the dog crate?

Mama stinks, and the heat added to it...pee u... makes my house smell like a barn

 

[Whirlwind]

You dont need to bring them in if they are with momma. She will keep them all nice and toasty. They will be fine outside.

 

[cmom]

I agree with 'csguinn'.

 

[Bandana]

Do you have a fairly draft free coop? If so, the mama can keep them warm as long as she has plenty of thick, fluffy bedding. I had a small flock when I lived way up in the Rockies in Colorado. My coop was very old and a little drafty. Still, the only time I worried about my birds was when the temps dropped into the low 20's and below. Then I provided a huge cardboard box for them to snuggle in. The only time I had them in the house was when I first got them and they were tiny. No mama to mother them. Oh, and once I had a seriously injured hen. Otherwise, they were just fine outside.

 

[FisherMOM]

Thanks for the replies, and yes, the coop is fairly draft free.
I have a dog crate for them and I threw a blanket over it.

If I put them back outside, will they need a lamp at all for extra
heat? What about when the wee ones come out from under
Momma to eat and drink? She has only 2 chicks.
The temps are in the 30s at night now.

You say thick, fluffy bedding.. as in what, straw? I had shavings,
but the babies were eating it. I now have given them shredded
newspaper for bedding.

It is to be nice today and would be nice to move them back outside!
the babies are 2 days old today and getting along great.

I refuse to put them back in the coop itself just yet, as I have a
6 month old RIR Cockerel that lives in the coop and won't go into
the run because my rooster chases him back. I have seen him jump
on this momma hen before the eggs were hatched when she
would get up to stretch her legs. (and the coop is a little
drafty during the day when the pop door is open.) BUT... they will
be just outside of the coop, in the other area of the shed.
My coop is a shed divided...part coop and the other part storage.

 

[swtangel321]

If you keep her and the babies in the house then no you dont need a heat lamp.... I have a mama and her babies in the coop and I put a heat lamp above her nest box so she could get some extra heat (its been 30 here also) I WOULD NOT keep it so low that it heats he up to 100 (that would be bad) just a little heat. also you could put it so that she could move under it if she gets to cold or away if she gets to hot. You dont have to put a heat lamp out there she will keep them warm.