Transferring my chickens into coop and fire hazard

[rosemarythyme]

Fully feathered and with those temps, you don't need it.

The purpose of locking them in for a few days is to teach them that this is their new home. Up to you if you want to do it, but IMO it's easier and less stressful than chasing them down for the first few nights to get them to go inside.

 

[Jon Watkins]

Use the heat lamp if you want. Just put a wire around the clamp so that it can’t fall into the bedding.

 

[Folly's place]

Wean them off the heat lamp, if you haven't already, and then move them out to the coop.
My chicks go to a separate coop section at three weeks of age or a little younger, with their heat lamp, triple attached as mentioned above. Our coop is also wired safely by an electrition, with GFI outlets. Don't mess with electrical fires either!
For @Angileen ; chickens should have hours of darkness, not be under lights all the time.
Mary

 

[Angileen]

Wean them off the heat lamp, if you haven't already, and then move them out to the coop.
My chicks go to a separate coop section at three weeks of age or a little younger, with their heat lamp, triple attached as mentioned above. Our coop is also wired safely by an electrition, with GFI outlets. Don't mess with electrical fires either!
For @Angileen ; chickens should have hours of darkness, not be under lights all the time.
Mary

It's dark enough in my coop at night I have a 15x25 foot coop and the lamp I have for them is not much stronger than a night light. I face it away from the Roost they sleep in. In the winter I have no choice but to put up heat lamps, it gets to 40 below here in Northern Minnesota.

 

[TLCMidMichigan]

Chickens13:Also I heard that you leave the chickens in the coop for a week is that true?
According to your weather up coming, no heat lamp is needed. If they have feathers their good to go.

I am going to leave my chicks in the coop when transferred for about 1-2 weeks. Letting them get used to the coop and getting up on roost at night. Then I will open the door to a limited size run to give them more outside exposure. After awhile I will let them into the big run fenced of about 11,000 square feet. Lots of grass, dirt and all around scratching in my garden area.

 

[Angileen]

Chickens13:Also I heard that you leave the chickens in the coop for a week is that true?

I am going to leave my chicks in the coop when transferred for about 2-3 weeks. Letting them get used to the coop and getting up on roost at night. Then I will open the door to a limited size run to give them more outside exposure. After awhile I will let them into the big run of about 11,00 square feet. Lots of grass, dirt and all around scratching in my garden area.

I left mine in the coop for 3 weeks. It still took forever for them to learn how to use the roosts. They would pile in the corners, thank God I didn't lose any. I would go out every night and place them on the roosts, it was a losing battle. Finally 1 or 2 started using the roost then another and so on. But it took about 8 weeks for them to all figure it out. Once I started letting them in the run I had to heard them back to the coop before night fall. This year they are already on their roost by 7 pm. I just have to go out and shut the chicken door.

 

[Folly's place]

When you only have chicks, and no adults in your flock, there's no way the youngsters can learn from their mama hen, or older flock members. It takes these naive youngsters much longer to develop roosting behaviors, for example. My broody raised chicks are up on roosts next to mama at three weeks of age!
Mary

 

[Angileen]

When you only have chicks, and no adults in your flock, there's no way the youngsters can learn from their mama hen, or older flock members. It takes these naive youngsters much longer to develop roosting behaviors, for example. My broody raised chicks are up on roosts next to mama at three weeks of age!
Mary

I have a hen sitting on eggs now, candeled them the other day and they are moving. About 12 days to go before hatch. I also put 42 eggs in the incubator they are about a week behind the others.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder-raised chicks typically start roosting at about 10 to 12 weeks of age if they are in the grow-out coop and no adults are present. Some have started as young as 5 weeks, some go longer, but 10 to 12 weeks is pretty typical. The layout of my grow-out coop may have something to do with that. If my brooder-raised chicks are in the main coop with adults they are typically not going to start roosting on the main roosts with the adults until much older. That's why I put up a juvenile roost for them, to keep them out of my nests.

I've had a broody take her chicks to the roosts at 2 weeks. Some wait until five weeks. Mine just aren't that consistent. Some of my broody-raised chicks continue sleeping on the main roosts with the adults after the broody weans them and leaves them on their own. Usually they go to the far corner, as far from the adults as they can get. But I have had some broody-raised leave the main roosts and look for somewhere else to sleep. Usually that's somewhere in the coop, especially after I put up that juvenile roost. But I have had a few (very few) leave the coop entirely and try to sleep outside.

Heck, mine aren't consistent about anything.

 

[chicks13]

Should I just put a normal lightbulb in the coop?