impr3
Songster
I have 10 nearly 5 week old (33 days) chicks who have been completely off supplemental heat for about a week now in an unheated room with a window open to try to get them ready for moving out to the coop. I pretty much have to move them to the coop tomorrow for reasons detailed below, but the weather is also turning cold for the first time with lows of 0C (32F) expected every night for the next 3 nights. This compares to the coldest it's gotten thus far being a low of 8C (46F). The coop has no power so I can't put supplemental heat out there. Should I bring them back inside to the brooder each night until things warm back up a little?? The risk of that is that I'd be carrying them across uneven terrain in the dark (it's dark when I get back from work) and am terrified one will get free and I won't be able to catch it.
For context, they were heated with an EcoGlow from the start and have feathered out very well (a few tufts of fluff left on their heads and that's about it, see photos below). I turned the EcoGlow off during the day at 3 weeks and by 4 weeks I noticed that most of them were roosting on the log in the brooder at night (3 were sleeping in a pile in the corner, but none were under the EcoGlow) so I turned it off at night too.
They are getting far too big for the brooder and we are in a perpetual cycle of them escaping and me blocking the escape route. I've flight proofed our makeshift cardboard brooder pretty much as best I can at this point, and the first one escaped that today. In short, they have to go into the coop before work in the morning or I risk coming home to at least one escapee who's been away from food and water for far too long (the escape route doesn't allow for getting back in) and has likely pooped all over the place.
It seems like they will probably do just fine sleeping the night in the coop since they're mostly feathered and have been without heat a while. Worse comes to worst, they can switch back to sleeping in a snuggle puddle instead of roosting and should be able to keep each other warm. However, this cold snap has me all anxious about my babies. Plus, all the official sources tell me they should still be under a heat lamp at 27C (80F) at this age... Thank you for any assistance in either putting my mind at ease or let me know I'm crazy!
**Photos are from four days ago. They've feathered in even more since then!**
For context, they were heated with an EcoGlow from the start and have feathered out very well (a few tufts of fluff left on their heads and that's about it, see photos below). I turned the EcoGlow off during the day at 3 weeks and by 4 weeks I noticed that most of them were roosting on the log in the brooder at night (3 were sleeping in a pile in the corner, but none were under the EcoGlow) so I turned it off at night too.
They are getting far too big for the brooder and we are in a perpetual cycle of them escaping and me blocking the escape route. I've flight proofed our makeshift cardboard brooder pretty much as best I can at this point, and the first one escaped that today. In short, they have to go into the coop before work in the morning or I risk coming home to at least one escapee who's been away from food and water for far too long (the escape route doesn't allow for getting back in) and has likely pooped all over the place.
It seems like they will probably do just fine sleeping the night in the coop since they're mostly feathered and have been without heat a while. Worse comes to worst, they can switch back to sleeping in a snuggle puddle instead of roosting and should be able to keep each other warm. However, this cold snap has me all anxious about my babies. Plus, all the official sources tell me they should still be under a heat lamp at 27C (80F) at this age... Thank you for any assistance in either putting my mind at ease or let me know I'm crazy!
**Photos are from four days ago. They've feathered in even more since then!**
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