Too early to be outside?

[saintbee]

So. They are inside right now so please no hate! But, I got an order of chicks 3 weeks earlier than expected and I just can’t keep them in the house for long as we’re doing renovations to my usual “brooder” room. Unfortunately 2 chicks have died so far. Not sure why, they were warm enough and plenty of food and water but they are living in large totes. I got 33 chicks all alive and well in my shipment and was supposed to only get 30 so no complaints there but anyway. I’m not sure what happened to the 2 that died. Everyone was fine for 48 hours, found one dead this morning and culled another that was in rough shape an hour ago. Back to my question - I have a small outdoor coop and have a light and thermometer in there now to check the temp. Under the light the thermometer reads between 95-100. The coop is predator proof and much larger than the totes I have them in now. I’m in NY and coldest it’s supposed to be at night is 60 for the next week. It’s 70 and windy today - coop is draft free though. Does anyone have experience with these temps (with lamp) on baby chicks? I’m hoping to put them out ASAP as we have contractors coming tomorrow.

 

[SueT]

How old are they? I think 95- 100 is too warm. Can they get out of that temp to a cooler area?
I have moved 4 week old chicks out to coop with no heat in early spring with lows in the 40's and they did fine.
My current chicks, still indoors, about 2 1/2 weeks old, have stopped going under their warming lamp, so I shut it off. It's around 78-80 in the house. I'm moving them out to quarters outside next week.

 

[saintbee]

They’re less than a week. Hatched Wednesday. Yes, they can move to a cooler area. The coop is 4x4 and the lamp only covers a 2x2 area at most.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Do they have feathers?

 

[saintbee]

No feathers. They’re less than a week old.

 

[NNYchick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors.68067/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/
Here are a couple of articles on brooding out in coop. I live in north NY and have always put chicks out in coop at 1 week old, even in March. I use a Mama heating pad set up but I think with 30 that won’t work. Make sure that heat lamp is placed safely, I’ve never used one so I won’t comment on that. You don’t mention what your setup is but definitely make sure they have a cool area to get away from that 95-100 degrees. Maybe some pictures of the outside area would help us give you advice to make it successful for you.

 

[saintbee]

Thank you I’ll take some pictures on the coop. They wouldn’t be outside for at least week. I have a fenced in area for this particular coop bit the fencing needs some repair so they only be inside. I understand the heat lamp concern. I work from home so can check it religiously.

 

[saintbee]

This is my coop I’ve been using for my young birds. The heat lamp is attached to a roost about 2 feet off the floor so is adjustable. I was just trying to gauge how high to make it for a decent temperature for such young birds. As you can see, the fencing needs repair on the run but the inside is solid and the chicks would be limited to inside here for at least a week.

 

[NNYchick]

I would definitely get the outside part functional for them so they have both areas as the inside might be cramped for 30. Once they are using the outside watch closely that they are able to use the ramp. The heat lamp looks low to me, I’d worry about dust and shavings. Exactly how old will they be when going out there? With 30 of them in there they might not need as much heat.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I do not see any ventilation in that coop great as it is needs ventilation or will have huge problem in the winter