Temperature change question for first night outside.

[MrsM74]

Hello,
I am a first time chicken parent who received month old pullets from Murray McMurray a few weeks ago. They are now 6-8 weeks old and our chicken house and run will finally be done tomorrow, so they are moving outside! We have a cuckoo marans, barred rocks, SLW, and Easter Eggers. The EE are smaller and still have some downy looking feathers under their wings. I do have a heat lamp about 3 feet above their brooder at night (they have been loose in my spare room / tack room 12 hours a day) as that room has no heat and they still pile up under it. It has been 39-40 degrees here at night and I will put a heat lamp 3 feet off the floor in the center of their chicken house. Will they likely be ok? Their current bedroom is probably about 50 degrees at night.

 

[eggbert420]

Put a thermometer in with them and lower the heat source if needed.

 

[debid]

They don't need heat anymore. But, since you seem very concerned, I'd suggest putting the lamp in the coop. Just don't center it. Put the heat at one end of the coop and as far from the roosts as possible. Then, when they choose cold roost sleeping over the heated floor, you won't have to stress about removing the light.

FWIW, mine chose the cold roost at 4-5 weeks. Those feathers are excellent insulation.

 

[azygous]

Good advice so far. Your chicks are equipped to withstand way more cold than you'd be comfortable with.

Only a little acclimatizing is necessary. Since the room they are in is cool, take away the light all together. Ignore the frantic chirping when night comes. They are only protesting the dark, not the lack of heat. If you want to quiet them, put a night light in the room for a little light. Chicks are no different than toddlers. They assume there are demons in the dark conspiring to eat them.

I advocate taking chicks outside during the day for the few days preceding moving them into the coop. This will acclimate them to outdoor temps as well as get them familiar with their new home.

You are going to find out just how much chickens abhor change. You can make life easier on yourself and them by getting creative to find ways to mitigate the changes to make the transition smoother. Bring something from the brooder with them when you move them into the coop, for example.