Too cold for Mother and 9wk old chicks

[Marc_M]

Hi all,

I had a hen sneak away and hatch 5 babies on Oct. 10. It was nice and sunny and warm, so I didn't worry too much. However it is going to get seriously frigid here in a few days and I am concerned. She is still spending the night with them in a nesting box (their choice), but increasingly she, of course, is trying to 'cut the cord'. With day temps going down below 20 F and night temps as low as 6 F, I don't know if they can sustain and I don't know if I can count on Mom is going to continue her 'duties'.

I don't have an intermediary spot, temp.-wise between the coop and indoors and it is impractical and probably unsafe to put a heat lamp in the coop.

Are we ok here? Any ideas?

They live in a very large coop with 10 grown chickens (1 gentle rooster) and 2 ducks and have been well accepted into their tight-knit flock.

TIA for your time and concern,

Marc Miller
N.E. Penna., US

 

[Sjisty]

Well, I live in Florida, so I might not be the best person to answer! Since the chicks are two months old, they should be fully feathered. I think they will be fine with whatever precautions you take with the rest of your flock. They have each other for body warmth.

 

[shortgrass]

They'll be fine I had a broody hatch some in November last year, and I'm in N.Colorado; they did just fine. They were out from under mom by 4 weeks so she could hatch another brood.(she's a broody machine lol)

 

[Marc_M]

Thank you so much for taking your time to answer my question. As always, I find excellent advice from caring people.
Thank you again.

Marc MIller

 

[centrarchid]

Show a picture of their feathering and where they roost. I have multiple broods nine weeks or less and only one at five weeks still has mother hen. Older broods not roosting up are using huddle boxes or flat surfaces allowing chicks to roost together in a tight circle sort of like quail.

 

[GingersHuman]

They'll be fine. I have the opposite happening, bantam mom still brooding large fowl chicks at over 11 weeks, she sleeps under them at night! Ha ha!

 

[dekel18042]

Show a picture of their feathering and where they roost. I have multiple broods nine weeks or less and only one at five weeks still has mother hen. Older broods not roosting up are using huddle boxes or flat surfaces allowing chicks to roost together in a tight circle sort of like quail.

X2 Since they have been outside, at that age they should be acclimated, I would be conned only if they had been inside all this time.