Quick Question

[VTBobCat]

My chicks are 4 weeks old and mostly feathered. Their brooder is on our enclosed front porch. It will be 0 degrees outside tonight. They have 2 awesome heat plates in that tote for keeping warm. The tote helps hold heat, but is well vented so there is no moisture build up as they sleep. It looks covered, but it is actully open along the edges and more on the back side of the top. The porch is currently 38 degrees. I expect it will get a little cooler on the porch, but not too much more, based on experience. We covered that window to prevent any possible drafts.
So my question is, have we done enough for the night to keep them warm? We do not use/have a heat lamp to add.
My thinking is that if they were being raised by a mother hen, they would have to experience the same temps while having access to the mother hen. But instead they have the heat lamp here.

 

[blackdog043]

Is the tote just for them to sleep in? With heat plates in there it should be ok, if it's not to warm for them. At 4 weeks they should have a lot of their feathers for warmth also.

 

[VTBobCat]

Is the tote just for them to sleep in? With heat plates in there it should be ok, if it's not to warm for them. At 4 weeks they should have a lot of their feathers for warmth also.

Yes, the tote is just for them to sleep in. We put it in there to hold some more heat in for them since it would be so cold the next 2 days (it is negative 7 right now) and we cut an opening in the tote for them to go out into the larger area of the brooder if they were feeling too warm.
As of now they seemed to have dome really well so it seems like it worked.