Should they come inside tonight? Going to be cold..

[chantald]

I have 6, 3 week old Australorps that are currently living inside their coop. The forecast for the next two nights is.. tonight 33, tomorrow night 29.

Here is their coop

It is one of those Amish barns 8x8. It has one window (closed) and 2 air vents (always open)

Set up inside, with 1 heat lamp and a small box, which you can't see but it is to the far left under the heat lamp.

Should they come inside for the next few days? They will be in a small guinea pig cage

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

I would bring them in just to be sure.

 

[morelcabin]

with a 250 watt heatlamp 18" from the floor my babies start out in the shed from day one and are fine. I have never brought them in the house. If it makes you feel better though, do:>) Better than losing sleep over it. But it is really warm under the light. Our nights are still well below 29 here and my day olds will be coming in next week. They are alot tougher than we give them credit for. I've never lost any to the cold. That shed looks pretty comfy

 

[chantald]

I have one of those red halogen bulbs.. it is about 3 ft off the floor..

They are miserable in the guinea pig cage.. It is a bit small for them..

eta: the lamp is about the same height as the bottom of the window..

 

[JackieK318]

I'd consider lowering the lamp or adding another if possible. My chicks were pretty comfy last night (34 degrees) in the coop with two heat lamps about 2.5 feet from the floor. They did hang out directly under the light and are three weeks old.

 

[chantald]

I only have one other lamp and the week olds are using it. I'll just keep them inside. Better safe than sorry!!

 

[12 Acres]

I'm in NW Ohio and it got down to 40 last night. My 2-week old chicks were just fine out in the coop. I lowered their heat lamp an inch and fluffed their bedding. I went out to check them before going to bed and they weren't all huddled under the heat lamp like I thought they would be. Instead, they were all milling about pecking for food, just as chickens should be.

Honestly, I think your birds will be just fine. They are tougher than we give them credit for.

 

[Meesh]

Mine have a light and one of those oil type floor heaters that run on electric. Works great. It hasn't been above freezing at night yet... I have the heater sectioned off inside of a dog pen.

Cheers,
Michelle

 

[ebonykawai]

LOL, I asked the same thing! I'm in NY, too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=49974

I just threw a heavy sheet over the roosts, which is above their brooder area. That will cut the amount of space to heat. It's not close enough to the lamps to cause a fire, and should help contain the heat a bit more. I'm a bit overprotective, too.

 

[zippychickens]

We had a very unexpected cold snap about 2 weeks ago. Two nights in a row were 27 and then 30. I had just moved the 5 week old out to the coop. They were feathered but barely. Anyhow they did fine, no heat lamp.
They snuggled up in a doghouse with shavings.
A lot of our crops weren't so lucky. Lost alot of the wine grapes and some sunflowers. Other farmers lost entire fields of tomatoes.