to cold for 4 week chicks???????????

[Fred's Hens]

I live in North Texas and the night time temps have been down in the 60's with daytime between 75 to 85. My chicks are 3 weeks old and are outgrowing there brooder. And they are beginning to fly some. I want to put them in the grow out coop where I do have 2 older retirement hens. I can raise the pellet feeder so the chicks can only get to their own starter feeder but what about heat? I do have floor level boxes that have shavings in them and the space is 8x10. The would also have access to the outdoors during the day when the poop door is open. Would the extra heat be too much for these hens?

Thanks for the input!

Basically, your situation is similar enough to the above posts for you to draw together a plan.

Whether it is brooder box, or a small pen in the barn, or a cage in the coop, 75-80 daytime temps don't require any "upping" for 3-4 week old chicks. But that temp is likely only for 4 hours in the afternoon. The rest of the time, you might consider using a timer, allowing the heat emitter to only provide heat during the cooler periods.

The whole objective of the heater emitter or heat lamp is not to heat the entire environment of the chicks. The purpose is to provide a "hotspot" that mimics the underside of broody hen. That's it. A broody doesn't heat the world, not even the coop. All she heats is an area of roughly 1 square foot, under her body. That's it. The chicks do not spend 24/7 under mother hen. They spend most of their awake time scurrying around in ambient air, even if that air is 40F. Not a problem. When they are cold, they go warm up. That's is how a hotspot should work for artificially brooded chicks. Hope that helps.

Your older hens should not be allow access to your chicks, at this point. Thus, the hotspot over in the outside brooder area shouldn't effect them.