Question about temps with 5 week old chicks

[BetsyB0101]

I put my 5 week old chicks outside in a little house a few days ago. Before that they were inside my house. So it has been cold and the wind has been whipping so I have had their heat lamp on at night only. Well today was warmer, low 70's and it is still 64 outside. They are in a pretty warm house and I am afraid they will be too hot with the heat lamp on but then afraid they be will cold without it cause they are used to being warmer than that. The forecast says low of 59 tonight. They are not fully feathered but probably getting close. The building they are in is 4 ft x4 ft. They are golden sex linked. There are eight of them. They have pine shavings for bedding. Should I turn on the heat lamp or not? It is 250 watt.

 

[kidcody]

Since at that age they like to lay on the floor. I would get a box with shavings in it and they will pile in a night and cuddle together for warmth. I would leave the light off as long as there is no cold wind drafts in your coop. They will be fine. There feathers will finish coming in real fast.

 

[BetsyB0101]

They do have a perch in there and I have noticed when the light is off they tend to be on it. At least some of them. I will try the box! Thank you for the advice. If it were cold or hot it wouldn't be so hard to decide what to do with them!

I will probably get up all night going out to see how cold it is! The box that I made their house out of was a plywood shipping box made of 3/4 inch plywood so it is not drafty at all.

 

[eggdd]

i had chicks hatch on tuesday of this past week - - thursday night i put them in the [unheated] garage. that night, it went down to 33 degrees. they had an eco glow to get under. no heat lamp. guess what? they were fine (i love that eco glow....seriously). not only were they fine, when i went to check on them first thing friday morning, they were out in the brooder running around like...well, like chicks. and just moments ago, on their fifth day of life, at 10 (ish) pm, they were, again, out in the brooder running around - - playing, eating, drinking, bouncing on each other's backs, etc - - NOT under the eco glow. it's probably in the upper 50s low 60s out there.

my point: they're probably fine. your chicks probably have most, if not all, their feathers. it's a warm night. don't worry. or, if you'd feel better and sleep better, just put the light on.

either way, i'm sure it will all be okay.

once you've made a decision, have a glass of wine, curl up with a good book, and get a wonderful nights rest.

have a great monday! and enjoy your chicks!

edited to add:

could i use the word 'probably' more? it's unlikely. probably.

 

[BetsyB0101]

Thank you! That makes me feel better! And I have been looking at getting an Ecoglow. I am tired of my spare bedroom being "the chicken room". Especially with holidays coming up! I don't know too many guests that want to sleep in a bedroom with 40 baby chicks! Lol. (the rest are still in there now. I am working on their houses).