Temp could drop to 45

[LI chickie]

Temperatures could go down to 45 tonight I'm thinking it might be better to bring the girls in the house rather than their coop tonight. We won't run electric in the coop, it's attached to my 2 stall barn. Last night when I went to check them they were huddled together and felt warm they are 5weeks old.

 

[BongeDundee]

What breed are they? I know that some breeds are able to withstand cold temperatures, but they still are chicks so that may differ. I would say that since technically every week they spend in a brooder you should lower the temperature five degrees each week (starting at 95 degrees), they should be maintaining a temperature of 75 degrees, or in that range. Its really up to what you think will be best for your flock.

 

[LI chickie]

5 RIR's and 1 Golden Wyandotte. It was hard to regulate the temperature in the brooder (xlarge dog crate) they've been without the light at night less than a week. Last Saturday night it dipped into the low 40's I brought them in and put the light on.

 

[BongeDundee]

I guess any light would be sufficient enough to keep them warm. I have been letting my chicks outside once a week, but never over night. Even if I did, they are Easter Eggers, a breed which does well in cold weather, so I wouldn't have as much as a hold up. What was the temperature last night in your area? If they were huddled together, I would say that they are cold.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I would not hesitate to leave birds like what are shown in that picture out in those temperatures - as long as the coop is dry and draft free they will be fine.

 

[LI chickie]

I just looked and this mornings low was 50.
Coop is dry. I want to put weather stripping in a few spots. The cover to the nest boxes & around their door to the pen. Since they seem to travel well in the cat carrier I can always make that last minute decision.

 

[LI chickie]

I would not hesitate to leave birds like what are shown in that picture out in those temperatures - as long as the coop is dry and draft free they will be fine.

I decided to leave the girls out, it did get to 47 but they seemed fine at 5am when I checked them.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I decided to leave the girls out, it did get to 47 but they seemed fine at 5am when I checked them.

That's great! These little guys (gals) are a lot tougher than we can sometimes give them credit for being.
Had to laugh at the cat carrier bit - last year my contractor (*cough* husband *cough*) was running behind schedule on the coop conversion project (we repurposed part of our existing barn for the chickens) and the chicks and I were all ready for them to be out of the house/brooder. One of the last things he did was get the pop door between coop and run cut -so every day there I was with my cat carrier catching a few birds, loading them up and moving them back and forth between coop and run so they could have some fresh air time - with a small carrier and 16 birds in that bunch it made for several trips when all was said and done.

 

[LI chickie]

I was riding my bicycle around the neighborhood one morning and a neighbor was throwing this big cat carrier away, I couldn't resist so I picked it up and cleaned it up, figuring one day it'd come in handy!

 

[rides2far]

One person's junk is another person's treasure! We went dumpster diving across the street. Our neighbors were moving & they were throwing GOOD stuff away. Score!