When can I not worry about them sleeping in a temp controlled envir?

[AmberWavesofGrain]

My babies have a mommy, but tonight 2 of them were stuck / lost outside the house while mamma and the rest were inside. I got them 5 days ago because none of the mammas eggs hatched and she took to them perfectly. The store (a reliable one) had just gotten them in that day. But I don't know exactly how old they are. Yesterday their wing feathers were maybe 1/2 inch and today they are at least 1 inch. Today was their first trip outside the coop with mom (she tried yesterday but none followed). And then, as I said, she was in tonight with the other 4, and 2 were out and seemed a bit lost. I closed them in tonight because I was afraid that they might wander out at night and die. It won't be that cold (51 F) tonight, but I am not sure what the time frame for keeping them warm is. I searched this site but couldn't find what I was looking for. SO, I guess my question is how long do they have to stay at that magic temperature under mommy? When are they old/tough enough to sleep alone and not be worried about? Thanks for any help!

 

[DawnCols]

I'm looking forward to the answers you get--I have similar questions.

At least with mama I guess they probably stay the right temperature and you don't have to worry about heat lamp placement!
Dawn

 

[felidaet]

I don't have any experience with a hen raising chicks. If they were in a brooder they should still be 90 - 95 degrees if they are a week old. If mama hen is not keeping them warm, 51 degrees is going to be very cold for them. Has she rejected these two? You may need to get them in a brooder quickly.

 

[angelbabyamy]

I have 17 5 1/2 week old FBCM and BLRW chicks. This weekend we were FINALLY moving them out of the house. My husband built me some larger brooders that were supposed to go in his shop at the end of the garage. Unfortunately we didn't measure the width of the doors and it won't fit, lol! We wrapped black plastic around it (sides were hardware cloth) and put it on our covered back patio. I have a 250 watt light on top. I also put a Costco fruit box in there with some pine shavings. My Wyandottes like to get in the box.
I was a little worried because it was 34 degrees Sunday morning!
When they have a mommy they all can't fit under her when they are this age and they would all be piling together in the corner of the coop.

 

[Judy]

I've had a few broodies raise chicks in the coop, in with the flock. I've never had a problem like yours. At dusk the chicks have gathered together in their nest or in a new spot in some hay and mama has covered them. My broodies have continued to cover their chicks for 3-4 weeks, then started ignoring them or even chasing them away from her and returned to the roost. At this point the chicks have gathered together to sleep in a huddle with no cover. In some cases the weather was pretty cold for us, near freezing at night.

I hope your chicks will start gathering in one place for you.

 

[no1hilbily]

last night was the first cold night out for my 10 4 week old chicks in the coop i new it was going to get cool (40 deg) so i put a second heat lamp out there just checked them it is 40 deg now they r all good 2 of them are on the top rung on the roost