Too cold this winter for chicks :(

[mya_975]

Hello! I recently got 10 chicks shipped to me and they’re around 2 weeks old right now I also have one chick that is 3 weeks old and I thought I would be able to put them in their permanent coop this winter before it gets cold but it’s getting cold here VERY fast and it’s gonna be a very snowy winter so my neighbors are saying I should leave them in the garage. They’re in a big tote with a heat lamp right now and it’s great but as they get older it’s not gonna work. Any tips on how I should set up the garage for them? How many heat lamps I should use? Should I use the usual pine shavings or should I use hay? Should I put a tarp down? I need help.

 

[DobieLover]

Where are you located? Unless you are in zone 4 or less, they will be just fine moving to the coop provided it will be very well ventilated and dry. Make sure you are raising the lamp regularly to acclimate them to ambient temperatures.
If you can put them in the coop/run during the day, it will help speed up their acclimation and feathering. At 6 weeks, I'd move them in permanently and pull all heat sources.

 

[mya_975]

Where are you located? Unless you are in zone 4 or less, they will be just fine moving to the coop provided it will be very well ventilated and dry. Make sure you are raising the lamp regularly to acclimate them to ambient temperatures.
If you can put them in the coop/run during the day, it will help speed up their acclimation and feathering. At 6 weeks, I'd move them in permanently and pull all heat sources.

Hello, I live in New Jersey near the coast. The lows right now are in the 40s. So you’re saying I should still be moving them out at 6 weeks? The lows can get to mid 30s at night and it’s only fall.

 

[DobieLover]

So you’re saying I should still be moving them out at 6 weeks? The lows can get to mid 30s at night and it’s only fall.

Yes. That's what I'm saying.
I live in NY. I raised a brood of chicks in the built-in brooder in my coop. When they were just under 2 weeks old, I went out on a morning when it was 23F and they were zipping all over the place, eating and running back under their heat source then zipping back out when they were warmed up. I've had hens hatch chicks and had a snow storm hit when the chicks were less than a week old. They would go under their mother to stay warm and come out to scratch and eat with her otherwise.
There is plenty of time for your 2-3 week olds to feather out. That happens at 5-6 weeks.
I've had adult birds strutting around half naked with their molts with weather in the teens. They did fine.
As I wrote, make sure you are raising that lamp to ensure at least the end of the brooder where the food and water is remains as close to ambient temperatures as possible. If you had a safer heat source than a heat lamp, something like a brooder plate or a MHP, I'd strongly suggest you set them up in the coop right now.
Once you permanently move them out there, you can give them a huddle box.

 

[Tamayeager]

Once they have feathers they can handle the cold. As long as they have been acclimated. Especially cold hardy breeds. You will be surprised at just how well they take it. Previous poster had great advice! They will be fine. I know it's hard to put them out when they still seem so small! Lol but they can handle it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They’re in a big tote with a heat lamp right now and it’s great but as they get older it’s not gonna work. Any tips on how I should set up the garage for them? How many heat lamps I should use? Should I use the usual pine shavings or should I use hay? Should I put a tarp down?

I also use a heat lamp. I strongly recommend you do not use that clamp that comes with it. Hold it into place with wire or chain, supported so it cannot fall. As far as I'm concerned, firmly supporting the heat lamp so it cannot fall eliminates the vast majority of the risk of a heat lamp. I'll repeat that. Do not use string that can burn or plastic that can melt or that clamp that can fail, use wire or chain to secure it firmly

I don't know how big your tote is but a good way to get a bigger brooder is to get one or more appliance boxes, maybe from an appliance store. You can tape two or more together to make it really big. Put plywood or cardboard on the floor so their poop doesn't stain your garage floor. A tarp could work. Pine or aspen shavings, hay, straw, dried leaves, lots of things could work for bedding.

What you want is to keep one spot warm enough in the coolest temperatures and one spot cool enough in your warmest temperatures. It doesn't matter how warm one spot gets as long as they can go to a spot that is cool enough. It doesn't matter how cold one spot gets as long as they can go to a place warm enough. I don't know what kind of temperature swings you get in that garage or if it is climate controlled so it stays the same temperature. My 3' x 6' brooder is in the coop. I put chicks in there straight out of the incubator whether we are having a summer heat wave or it's below freezing. In the summer I use a lower wattage bulb on one end. In winter I use two heat lamps on one end in case one fails but there may be ice in the far end. The air temperature may go from below freeing into the 70's F in a few hours. If the chicks get warm they move to the cooler end. If they get cold they move to the warm end.

I don't worry about raising and lowering the lamp on a daily basis. I pretty well set it up when I start for the season I'm in and leave it. I let them micromanage their heat, sure makes my life a lot easier and they know better than I do if they are warm or cool. To me that's part of the problem in using a heat lamp with a tote, it is so easy to overheat the entire tote. Extra room in the brooder is nice for different reasons.

Most chicks are fully feathered around 4 weeks but not all chicks develop the same. Some can take longer. That's one reason I hate to give a firm age for anything like this. The quality of your coop matters too. If you have good ventilation and good breeze protection where they are they can handle pretty cold temperatures much younger than many people expect. It helps to acclimate them to colder temperatures. Mine get acclimated in my brooder, people would be surprised at how much time they spend in the colder parts of my brooder after they get a little age on them. If your garage has temperature swings and you allow parts of your brooder to cool down yours can get the advantage of acclimating too.

There are a lot of "if's" involved but yours can probably go out to the coop in your expected weather at six weeks. They don't have to, it won't hurt them to stay in the garage longer if you can stand it. But you do have that option.

If you can safely provide a warm enough spot in the coop, whether with a heat lamp, heating pad, or heat plate (some heat plates are not rated for below 50 F, you might want to check) you can move them out now.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I believe as soon as they feather out they should be fine outside, especially with it in the 40s I currently have 2 three month old pullets and they insist on sleeping outside still when their water is going frozen solid every single night! One is a Pavlovskaya so they’re built for cold weather but the other is a barnyard mix and not built for cold but they’re both fine, no frost bite at all, I move them to the coop of course. But this is the weather they’ve been out in! All 16 of them are fine, from silkies to Pavlovskaya! So as long as they are fully-mostly feathered out and have some shelter that is insulated I am pretty sure they’ll be perfectly fine

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hello, I live in New Jersey near the coast. The lows right now are in the 40s. So you’re saying I should still be moving them out at 6 weeks? The lows can get to mid 30s at night and it’s only fall.

Yes move them out. I live in Nova Scotia Can. pretty similar weather to you and once they're 6 weeks they'd be outside without heat. I do raise mine outside in a coop so to get to food and water they have to leave the heat and they get used to the real temperature.

If your garage is unheated it shouldn't be any different than inside your coop except they'd have more ventilation outside in their coop which is better to avoid frostbite. Which they aren't going to get right at freezing temps.

With 10 babies they'll be fine at 6 weeks outside without heat provided they're fully feathered and have been exposed to the colder temps out from under the lamp.