Will it be too cold at night for them?

[chickenpoop77]

They're 5 weeks and are ready to be in the coop. It's a high today of 60 but we will have lows this week of 38. Do you think they're ok with no lamp?

 

[Ridgerunner]

That’s right on the border. If they have been raised so they have been acclimatized to the cold and your coop has good ventilation and good breeze protection, they would probably be fine. I’ve had chicks go through that type of temperatures at that age but mine are raised outside in a brooder in the coop. One end is kept warm but the other end occasionally has ice in it on those really cold mornings. Mine are acclimated. I also have good ventilation and good breeze protection.

I understand your wanting to get them out of your house (that’s why mine are raised in the coop, I want to stay married) but if they have not been acclimated I’d probably wait a few more days. If you can at all expose them to colder temperatures and see how they react. This will help acclimate them but also give you some confidence they really can handle cold pretty well.

 

[Rewster]

If it were me I would put a lamp on them. I have 5 week chicks in outside and it has gotten down into the 20's the last couple of nights.
They seem to be doing ok but they are in a smaller insulated coop. I still worry about them.
If you do you do use a lamp be sure it is secured and cannot fall down. I live in a rural community and we do not go through
a winter without a barn or shelter burning down from a heat lamp that has fallen.

 

[MicroMaverick]

I have a similar question. I'll be hatching eggs in the bator all winter and the bf is okay with the newborns being in the house for a week or so after hatching. If I then move them to a brooder with a heat lamp in an insulated garage do you think they'll be okay? It can get down to below zero in Iowa in winter..... or should I get a heater for the garage too?

 

[azygous]

I'd like to take this opportunity to steer you toward a better system of brooding chicks than the heat lamp method. Check out the thread "Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder right here on this page. Under this system, chicks become hardened to the cold right from the day they graduate from the incubator. Your mate won't need to put up with even one day of chicks in the house after they hatch.

 

[chickenpoop77]

Oh they've been outside and seemed fine. They were outside the other day and it was really windy (I was running errands when it got cold) and probably 48 but sunny and didn't seem cold.

 

[Blooie]

Last year I evicted mine at 5.5 weeks on April 1st. It was 20 degrees out there and it continued to fall throughout the night. They had a heat lamp but weren't even near it. They did the same thing the second day, snuggled down near the pop door but not the lamp. Third day I took the heat lamp out and they did just fine, despite getting our last snowfall on June 6th. Chicks need care, but they aren't as fragile as we think. By 5 weeks Mama wouldn't be keeping them warm anymore either - they wouldn't fit. Instead they'd be cuddled up to each other somewhere near her and she'd be teaching them to roost regardless of the outside temps.

Now I raise them outside from day one - well, actually day two if they've been shipped so I can watch for shipping stress and give any that might need it a little extra care. Other than that, out they go and that's with daytime highs in the teens and twenties. Haven't lost a chick or had a sick chick, and they are strong and active and thriving. This year's 3 batches are laying well now.

I think with daytime temps in the 60s and nighttimes in the high 30s yours will be fine in the coop as long as it isn't drafty. Don't panic if you see them huddling together like it's the end of the world - they do that mostly for security and somewhat for warmth. That's what they'd be doing anyway even if they'd been raised under a broody hen.

And welcome to BYC!

 

[MicroMaverick]

I'd like to take this opportunity to steer you toward a better system of brooding chicks than the heat lamp method. Check out the thread "Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder right here on this page. Under this system, chicks become hardened to the cold right from the day they graduate from the incubator. Your mate won't need to put up with even one day of chicks in the house after they hatch.

Thank you! I'll check that out and may have to start using that method. I love having fresh hatched chicks peeping in the house, but he isn't always as excited about it!

 

[MicroMaverick]

I'd like to take this opportunity to steer you toward a better system of brooding chicks than the heat lamp method. Check out the thread "Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder right here on this page. Under this system, chicks become hardened to the cold right from the day they graduate from the incubator. Your mate won't need to put up with even one day of chicks in the house after they hatch.

Genious! This is what I'm going to set up in my coop - I'm in the process of converting a 12' by 24' garage so thank you for the idea!