Spin off- are my 2 week old chicks going to get to cold without a heat lamp?

[AKMotherClucker]

Hi all, thank you all for being so welcoming! Spin off question to are my chicks to hot, didn't want to thread hijack.
My (15) girls are now 2 weeks old. I still have them under a heat lamp, however I am wondering if they are ready to go without the lamp while I am away at work (about 6 hours, 5 days a week). They are in our mud/boiler room, which stays fairly warm, about 70-75 without a heat lamp, and probably 75-80 with it, it's a small space and houses both of our water heaters. The chicks have been outside for time in the yard (mid 50's-70ish for yard time temps), and they are all starting to feather.
I'm a little worried about the heat lamp and fires, I make sure to wipe of the dust from it, however it gets dusty so fast! I can't remember how/when we pulled the plug on the heat lamp for our older (now adult) ladies. I understand the 5 degrees/week rule of thumb, however at that rate our girls would be 2 months old before they are in the coop. (not gunna happen). Any thoughts on acclimating them to our cool climate? Thank you all, you are awesome chicken advisers!

 

[ChickenQuail007]

It looks a little too cold, but it should be fine. I think the chicks would all stay together in one spot if it's cold and you have 15 so it shouldn't be a big problem. Although you have to reduce 5 F every week, so after 2 weeks should be around 90 F and not around 77 F. Since it's only a few hours, it wouldn't be a major problem.

 

[eviemethugh]

Everyone is different in how they feel about this. My cousin would say they should still be at 100
We are more aggressive and after the first 3 ish days we take it down 2 degrees a day, following the chicks lead (aka if they look cold, we go back a bit or slow down for a few days)
We want strong chicks that can live outside. I think especially if you live somewhere cold hardening them off is important. You can only do the 2 degree thing down to about 70 before you need to slow down a bit. Joel Salatin has a chart for this (that will drive you crazy if you actually try to use it-it doesn't match up!) that is a good guideline.
We also wait to put them out when the daily high and low are not more than 30 degrees apart. Too much of a change at first is hard on them.
(And They feather out quicker this way! My cousin's don't feather out for 6 weeks)

 

[AKMotherClucker]

Thank you! I think I will wait, maybe I'll start turning the lamp off intermittently for a couple of hours in the evenings while I am home. I don't want to freeze their little tail feathers, but making them cold hardy will do them good in the long run. Where I am at, days at 70 degrees or above are few and far between. I like the 30 degree night/day difference rule, that will be helpful for knowing when to overnight them in the coop. I've definitely been following their lead, no one seems cold, and they usually congregate around the edges of the heat lamp, instead of directly below it, which leads me to believe that they aren't too cold
Thanks again!

 

[azygous]

Why not compromise by using a 100 watt bulb? That would give them a warm spot to hunker under should they cool down to an uncomfortable degree. And the lower wattage bulb isn't nearly the fire danger. Surely you can scavenge an incandescent bulb from somewhere.

As for that heat scale, please try not to take it so religiously! It's merely a guideline, not dogma! Chicks merely need a warming up spot in case their body temperature drops and they become uncomfortable. Most of the time, chicks are no where near a heat source out in a farm yard. They run and play and only occasionally pop under the mama hen for a quick warmup, then it's off to the races again!

I got a chance to observe chicks this past four weeks as I brooded mine out in the middle of the run under a heating pad system. Even at one week, those chicks were running around playing and no where near the heat source, even though it was in the low 50s. They would duck into the heat cave for a warmup and then pop right out again. Chicks aren't like hamburger patties, needing to be kept at a constant temp.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

My girls range from 5-12 weeks. The 12 week Olds have been outside with no additional heat source for a month with no complaints and the 5 week Olds for 2 weeks now. Come evening coop time they snuggle down together and sleep good and toasty. I live in the southern tier of NY so we have some nippy nighty all year round. Its all a matter of how your girls acclimate mine love bugs to much to slow down and warm up.