Weather change and my 10wk old chicks

[Debbielucia]

Hi I need some advice .......my chicks are 10wks old and not under any heat lamps , oh I live in Manchester UK the rainy place , Im thinking about winter already as autumn has hit us early
, do i need to put at heat lamp in the coop when winter hits us , do hens feel the cold ? like I said they only 10wks now but Im thinking i may put them in the coop in the shed to keep them warmer in winter , am i being too over protected ? lol




Mother to 3 silkie chicks

 

[math ace]

It depends . . .

How weather proof is your coop ?
How draft proof is it ? ?
How much snow do you get ? ?
What type of birds do you have ? ?

Persoanlly, I hooked a heater up to a timer and thermostat for my coop. It only came on at night or early hours of the morning. . . . AND it only came on if the temp in the coop dropped below a certain temperature. My coop was not draft proof and I had to provide extra heat to compensate.

 

[Judy]

They should be feathered enough now not to need heat. There are members on here from Alaska who never heat their coops. Chickens tolerate cold better than heat, but they can get frostbitten toes or combs.

I suspect that anywhere in the UK the most you will have to worry about is keeping unfrozen water, but I've never been there, don't know a lot about the climate. They do need ventilation but no drafts. And, yes, they need shelter available. They will likely go out in most kinds of weather, but need to be able to go inside when they want. Also, you will likely lose at least some to predators if you do not provide some prevention. Have you browsed the coop or predator sections?

 

[Debbielucia]

Thank you for your replies , I put a waterproof sheet over coop and run at night which keeps out the rain n wind as there are gaps in coop door , think I will put a bulb in there in winter just in case , its a large coop so they will have the option to sit under it , my chicks are silkies well not too sure about one of them will try add pics to see if anyone can tell me about the breed ,
the temp here in daytime at mo is 60-70c on a good day and 50c on a normal but at night its 15c and it rains a lot too , hate the UK we need to emigrate to sunnier skies !!!!!

I like the idea of heater and timer thermostat , will have to look into this

my chicks have lots fluffy feathers but they sleep huddled up at night not on the roosts

How do I upload pics onto forum

Thank you for help and advice

Debbie

 

[math ace]

My gals had a hard time transitioning from sleeping on flat surface to roosts. I had to go out there a few nights in a row and place them on the roost. They caught on pretty quick !

 

[Judy]

I've never had a silkie but if I remember correctly, they do not roost.