when do i turn off the heat lamp at night?

[mychickenbella]

I live in Washington, and the temp is in the 80's in the day and the 50's at night. But when i tuck them in at night, it is still kind of warm in the coop. I know it will get cooler in the evening so ive been turning the light on when i put them in. Is it okay to turn off the heat lamp now? And maybe put in a different light so they can see to eat? I have 5 that are 9 weeks old and 6 that are 7 weeks old.

 

[Imp]

I live in Washington, and the temp is in the 80's in the day and the 50's at night. But when i tuck them in at night, it is still kind of warm in the coop. I know it will get cooler in the evening so ive been turning the light on when i put them in. Is it okay to turn off the heat lamp now? And maybe put in a different light so they can see to eat? I have 5 that are 9 weeks old and 6 that are 7 weeks old.

At 7 and 9 weeks old, your chicks should be about fully feathered. You don't need the heat anymore. They will be fine, and will huddle together if they get cool.

Light is your choice. If you turn it off, they may not like it at first, or you can leave it on. Either works.

Imp

Oh, and welcome from a neighbor.

 

[mychickenbella]

Hi Imp...

Thanks for the advice!!

I have 3 barred that are not very nice to the younger chicks. Im waiting for the younger ones to get bigger then im going to try and introduce them again. I have them all in the same coop and run, but everything is divided with chicken wire, that way they can still see each other, but the Barreds can't peck them or chase them everywhere. Do you know if i should wait until they are the same size to try again? I've had chickens before, but i got them all at the same time, so i didn't have this problem before. The poor little ones are scared to death of the Barreds.

 

[Imp]

Hi Imp...

Thanks for the advice!!

I have 3 barred that are not very nice to the younger chicks. Im waiting for the younger ones to get bigger then im going to try and introduce them again. I have them all in the same coop and run, but everything is divided with chicken wire, that way they can still see each other, but the Barreds can't peck them or chase them everywhere. Do you know if i should wait until they are the same size to try again? I've had chickens before, but i got them all at the same time, so i didn't have this problem before. The poor little ones are scared to death of the Barreds.

I always wait till they are close to the same size. Bigger ones can hurt or kill little ones.
Sometimes integration is easier, sometimes horrible. I'm thinking to open up the barriers for mine today. Nervous though.

Imp

 

[mychickenbella]

I know how you feel. I let them out in the grass yesterday and the bigger barreds were chasing the little ones and were trying to peck them. I felt like momma bear trying to protect her babies.. I will be glad when i can take the walls down though, the little boogers are trying to fly up as high as they can and perch on anything available. I have perches for them, but they are not real high.. Tonight i am going to try and leave their light off for the first time. I turned their light off one night for just a sec because they wouldn't settle down and they were flying everywhere, the little ones were so scared. But, they don't really need the heat anymore, so its time.

 

[mychickenbella]

Okay, so i turned off the heat lamp... so they don't need to eat at night? Cause its really dark in the coop and i know birds can't see very well at night..

 

[Imp]

Okay, so i turned off the heat lamp... so they don't need to eat at night? Cause its really dark in the coop and i know birds can't see very well at night..

They eat so much during the day, that they are OK at night. They will probably wake up hungry and thirsty.

Imp

 

[mychickenbella]

Made it through the night!!

 

[Imp]

Made it through the night!!

 

[dbbd1]

Now, during the winter, what to do about the heat lamp. I have heard that they should be fine down to about 32* but after that you may want to het the coop with a little heat lamp.