Sooo Upset; Can't believe I am this freaked out about my babies.

[IndigoJaguar]

Gosh! Can't we just have some warm weather here for a change!! I have been worrying about the babies all day out in their greenhouse/coop!! I'm tired of thinking of them and my husband is mad because I am so freaked out. It was so nice the beginning of the week and they did fine, but they still aren't weaned off heat, and it has been so cold and windy here today....I'm afraid they will catch cold and die!

They have a box to huddle in but the heat lamp only kept it 59-62 today. Even tho they are all feathered, at four weeks, I still think they might have been cold!

 

[SilkieMomma]

Hopefully your babies will be just fine. It's hard when your worried about your babies!

 

[ChickLit]

Are they acting like they're cold...all huddling together or piling up? If they're sort of spread out from each other they're probably fine. You said they're feathered out also...they're probably a lot warmer than you think they are.

It's damp and chilly here, too, and we're longing to see the sun... *sigh*

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Are they acting like they're cold...all huddling together or piling up?

They were huddling a little at the end of the day. I turned on heater and the heat lamp....I think they will be ok....I hope. I don't want to start over!
Thanks for the reasurrances, tho!​

 

[nxd10]

They sound just fine.

We not only have our little peeps (which are still inside - I timed them for April 3 so that it would be warm in northern OH by the time they went outside). But we also have baby homing doves which moved outside in early March. We've had snow, rian wind, and a miserable hailstorm today. I was VERY nervous (and they're much more expensive than chicks.)

But they've been FINE. They have a roof and they snuggle for warmth.

If the chicks only snuggle a little, they've got to be okay. Mine are snuggling sometimes inside - and I know they're not cold.

A woman I work with - with more than 100 hens - tells me chickens are remarkably resilient. If they've got a place out of the wind, they're DRY (really important), you've got a lamp, and they're feathered, they'll do okay. They can bury themselves in the bedding too.

They'll (at least mine) will be out all winter, remember.

 

[ginormous chicken]

Try not to worry so! If you have a heat light, they usually do fine, even outside. Think of it this way mama hen can't keep all her babies at 90 degrees if it is only 30 outside. I means he is good and all, but not that good! Stupid question: can you not put them in the garage or in the bathroom of the house? Maybe you can persuade the DH to do that. My DH knows I am obsessed and if I put my foot down... well.... he would just give in

.

 

[ChickLit]

I'm glad you feel a little better, Indigo...I totally understand; I worry terribly about the babies, and I still worry about my older hens, too!

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Breathing a little sigh of relief. It's still cold today, but sunnier. I finally closed up their box last night and put the blankets over the top, and it stayed 65-69 all night.

A woman I work with - with more than 100 hens - tells me chickens are remarkably resilient. If they've got a place out of the wind, they're DRY (really important), you've got a lamp, and they're feathered, they'll do okay. They can bury themselves in the bedding too

I think they are more resilient than I think. I just freak out when they start acting cold, because they are only four and a half weeks.

I didn't worry about my adults much this winter when they free ranged in 5 degree weather....but they didn't act cold either. And I fed them warm oatmeal with molasses to keep up their energy. LOL​

 

[featherz]

They'll be fine. I put my chicks outside a while back at 5 weeks when temps were decent and then we had a sudden cold snap into the single digits. It was still double digits in the barn and they were all fine, even without a lamp. They were even roosting, not huddled. Mine were brooded without a light (ecoglow) so they feathered in earlier, it seems.

 

[IndigoJaguar]

I think mine feathered in early also because I started turning off the light when they were still inside and using a hot water bottle. I think it forces them to grow in faster when they get a little cool and have a full night without light.

Stupid question: can you not put them in the garage or in the bathroom of the house? Maybe you can persuade the DH to do that. My DH knows I am obsessed and if I put my foot down... well.... he would just give in .

Not stupid....but yes, I probably could have done what I wanted.....I could have put them in the shed, but it isn't heated and I didn't see any point in moving them into a cold box. Even with a heat lamp and heater, the box would have still been cold from sitting in that shed. The only advantage would have been the shed is tightly sealed against drafts, whereas their greenhouse is not.​