Will 3 week old chicks survive 39 deg f nights?

[ChookieG]

Hi guys,

I have nine 3 week old chicks that I'm thinking of putting out overnight (outdoors) in the chick coop as I've got another batch of chicks that's going to hatch on Thursday and the brooder won't be able to fit them all. The problem is the night temperatures this year has been unusually cold (around 39 - 40 deg F, 4 - 5 deg C) due to a prolonged la nina event and I was wondering whether that will be too cold for the little peeps to deal with? (Last year I did the same with 2.5 week old chicks but the night temperature then was around 59 deg f (15 deg C) so they coped well.

Any suggestions/thoughts will be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[MROO]

Not without a heat source! Since you have a couple of days, you have time to make an additional heat source out of a heating pad and some chicken wire/hardware cloth. They are not safe in open enclosures, but should be fine indoors or in an enclosed shed. Do a search on BYC for "Mama Heating Pad." Good Luck!

 

[Tonyroo]

If they go to the outside coop you need heat for them. The temperature swing can kill them.

I usually use a 125 watt heat lamp in my outdoor brooder when I raise chicks in the fall.

 

[ChookieG]

Not without a heat source! Since you have a couple of days, you have time to make an additional heat source out of a heating pad and some chicken wire/hardware cloth. They are not safe in open enclosures, but should be fine indoors or in an enclosed shed. Do a search on BYC for "Mama Heating Pad." Good Luck!

If they go to the outside coop you need heat for them. The temperature swing can kill them.

I usually use a 125 watt heat lamp in my outdoor brooder when I raise chicks in the fall.

Yikes! Thanks guys! It'll be difficult for me to connect a power supply to the outdoor coop - too far away from house and no fixed electrical supply to chick run.

How old do you think they'll need to be before they can be put out in such cold night temperatures as I may be able to squeeze the little guys in with the new hatchlings indoors in the evenings for now. I'll arrange it in such a way that the nine peeps can stay outdoors during the day and only brought in at night to sleep and there will be a divider separating the bigger guys from the hatchlings so the newborns won't get bullied/trampled over.

 

[NatJ]

Yikes! Thanks guys! It'll be difficult for me to connect a power supply to the outdoor coop - too far away from house and no fixed electrical supply to chick run.

How old do you think they'll need to be before they can be put out in such cold night temperatures as I may be able to squeeze the little guys in with the new hatchlings indoors in the evenings for now. I'll arrange it in such a way that the nine peeps can stay outdoors during the day and only brought in at night to sleep and there will be a divider separating the bigger guys from the hatchlings so the newborns won't get bullied/trampled over.

Maybe you could put the older chicks in a separate brooder indoors at night, with no extra heat. Room temperature should be warm enough for them.

Of course the newly-hatched chicks will need more heat, but providing that much heat to the older chicks will make it a bigger shock when they go back outside each day.

 

[ChookieG]

Maybe you could put the older chicks in a separate brooder indoors at night, with no extra heat. Room temperature should be warm enough for them.

Of course the newly-hatched chicks will need more heat, but providing that much heat to the older chicks will make it a bigger shock when they go back outside each day.

Thanks @NatJ, yeah I was thinking of that too. I'll keep the bigger chicks on one side of the brooder at night without heat and the other with the regular heating source for the hatchlings.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How old do you think they'll need to be before they can be put out in such cold night temperatures

Age-wise they should be getting pretty close to not needing heat outsisde in those temperatures, however you'd need to harden them off to lower temperatures first before they go out. If they had been raised outside they could be off heat by 4, maybe 5 weeks, assuming they were feathering in well and in good health.

Good suggestion on keeping them inside but without supplemental heat, that will help start acclimating them to cooler temperatures.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks @NatJ, yeah I was thinking of that too. I'll keep the bigger chicks on one side of the brooder at night without heat and the other with the regular heating source for the hatchlings.

What heat source are you using?

I know that some heat sources can affect the entire brooder, while others don't. (For example, a heat lamp makes it all warm, unless the brooder is very big indeed, while a heat plate does not heat the rest of the space.)

 

[ChookieG]

What heat source are you using?

I know that some heat sources can affect the entire brooder, while others don't. (For example, a heat lamp makes it all warm, unless the brooder is very big indeed, while a heat plate does not heat the rest of the space.)

I'm using a reptile heat mat with a thermostat .it's about a foot long and situated at one end of the brooder. .has been working fine since I started hatching my own chicks last year and the brooder is about 5 feet long so I don't think the heat can disperse that far..

 

[ChookieG]

Age-wise they should be getting pretty close to not needing heat outsisde in those temperatures, however you'd need to harden them off to lower temperatures first before they go out. If they had been raised outside they could be off heat by 4, maybe 5 weeks, assuming they were feathering in well and in good health.

These guys have been growing like hell & feathering well & all in great health.

Good suggestion on keeping them inside but without supplemental heat, that will help start acclimating them to cooler temperatures.