The coop at night

[zonamiss]

Hi everyone,
I'm stooped on what to do with the chickies at night in the coop. Do you have a light on in there for them? Are they in the dark? Do you have a small water and feeder in there for them? This weekend I should be able to put the kids out in the large coop after fixing all the little gaps and such in the coop. Cut I'm stooped on my questions. Please help.

1st time momma

 

[snoopysflock]

Chickens cant see in the dark so towards the night time they go in a coop to get shelter to protect themselves from predators at night they do not eat or drink but in the morning they are active so keeping food and water in the coop is not a bad idea. Baby chicks can stay in a coop as long as the floor is solid.

 

[snoopysflock]

Also little chicks need to be kept at 90 degrees all the time drop that temp by 5 degrees for every week of age until feathers are grown

 

[arkwelded]

I leave a light on and food/water for our baby chicks until they are 6 to 8 weeks.after that i stay to get them ready for adult life and leave the food and water outside the roost and the light goes off. I do have the luxury of having a separate brooder coop though.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

My girls are 4 weeks and 8 weeks and they all roost together in the big girl house. They have feed and water so when they wake up at the Crack of dawn they can eat but to light or added heat. My coop is 2×6 walls and floor so it stays cozy. Weather or not you will need added heat depends on age outside Temps and coop structure.

 

[shodack]

My girls are about 7 weeks old and have been outside for just over 2 weeks now. I don't have any supplemental light for them, and they don't seem to mind at all. I started turning the lights off a bit at a time while they were still in the brooder inside, so they were ready when they got out. For the first week or two I moved the food and water into the coop with them at night, but the last few days I have left it out. We let them out very early in the am. When they are spending more time inside during winter they'll have food and water inside too, at least that's my plan for now.

 

[Arwenelfmaiden]

Hi everyone,
  I'm stooped on what to do with the chickies at night in the coop.  Do you have a light on in there for them?  Are they in the dark?  Do you have a small water and feeder in there for them?  This weekend I should be able to put the kids out in the large coop after fixing all the little gaps and such in the coop.  Cut I'm stooped on my questions.  Please help.

1st time momma

Also little chicks need to be kept at 90 degrees all the time drop that temp by 5 degrees for every week of age until feathers are grown

 

[Arwenelfmaiden]

I need to know if that is when you stop the light? My ladies are going on 5 weeks and are really feathered except for a little fuzz here & there. They look scruffy, even. All 6 in a large brooder in my office. The official Coop is in the works and I was planning on putting them in the brooder/coop area soon, with a light on at first all day then with a timer at night, permanently. Is this good ? Any suggestions??? New Mama

 

[DanEP]

At 6 weeks depending on where you are they may not need heat any more. If their in your office they shouldn't need the heat now. You could turn the light off during the day and see how they react, if they don't huddle up together and start cheeping a lot your good to go. They will not like it when it gets dark for the first time but will be fine it's just something they will have to get used to and will settle down pretty soon.
It will help if you can take them outside for awhile each day before moving them to the coop to acclimate to different temps than room temp, but as long as their pretty much fully feathered they'll be fine

 

[Blooie]

My chicks don't get light. Period. They don't have a heat lamp, a regular light, a night light - no light. As the sun gradually goes down, they start bedding down, and they sleep peacefully in a little ball of fluff and feathers all night through - and that's from one day old. We have a tendency to think they need all of the same things we do....they simply don't. Once they roost for the night, you can pick them up, move them, check them for health, and even introduce new chickens to the flock while they sleep, they are that zoned out. I doubt seriously if a Mama Hen has a night-light under her wings for them, and they manage just perfectly without it. And they don't eat or drink after dark. They sleep. That's what Nature tells them to do.

I brood my chicks outside, in an open pen within the open run, from the beginning by giving them as natural a start on life as Mama hen would, and that includes having a normal day/night cycle. The only difference is that this Mom doesn't move. Sometimes for the first night or so have them in a dog crate in the house, but only until I know there is no shipping stress to deal with and they are all doing well. But they don't have a light or a heat lamp then, either. Here's a little video which shows how badly they "suffer" without light at night. (The video starts out dark.)

By this age, your chicks should be well able to handle being outside. These little critters are so much stronger and way less delicate than we think they are! Broodies raise chicks even in temps well below freezing, but they spend very little time under her after the first few days. They are out exploring, watching what she eats and learning to be chickens, and just pop under her for a quick warm-up or if they get spooked. We, on the other hand, put a hot light on them, heating not just them but their entire environment. They eat and drink 24/7. They run around until they are exhausted and then they drop right where they are for a nap - which is constantly interrupted by other chicks trampling on them because they aren't sleepy yet. Yet we worry when they go to live outside that we are taking that wonderful way of life away from them. Makes no sense to me. I think as their steward I owe them a beginning as close to they'd get with a broody as possible.