Raising chicks in winter - heating questions

[Chickennn]

I just got 6 baby chicks and I have them inside my house with a heating plate inside a fabric tent sort of thing for small animals. I think that they are between 1 and 2 weeks old, but I'm not sure of their ages.

I'm planning to move them into the garage where it's colder (around 40 F), but not sure when to do it, and how long to keep them on the heating plate. I want to make sure the little ones are still plenty warm, and they're still basically just little fluff balls. The breeds are Australorp, Barred Rock, and Sussex.

I have a nice coop and run area for them outside (overnight temps getting down to the 20s and 10s F), but I can't run power to it. I was thinking I could move them to the garage in 2 or 3 weeks, take away the heating plate, and then move them into the coop a week or two after that? Not sure if this is a good plan though since they'd be in the garage for awhile and they'll probably outgrow this tent thing I have pretty soon.

Any thoughts? Or maybe I just need to get an electrician soon so I can run power to the coop and leaving a heating plate for them in there? I am assuming that since these are cold hardy breeds that they won't need any supplemental heat once they feather out.

 

[azygous]

Your location is one of the most important pieces of information we need to have this conversation.

Yes, make hunting down an electrician a priority goal. You won't be sorry.

Acclimation is important for chickens of any age. Gradually getting them used to temperature changes is important at any age. Chickens get into trouble when they experience sudden changes in temperature.

Baby chicks are able to regulate body temperature pretty well by age five to six weeks once they get good feather coverage. Until then, they are dependent on calorie consumption and an external heat source in order to regulate their body heat, sort of like reptiles do. They are cousins, after all.

Why your location is important for us to know, we sometimes recommend taking chicks outdoors for progressively longer periods prior to moving them out. Of course, this is not possible in Siberia in winter.

 

[Chickennn]

Hey, thanks for your reply. I live in the front range area of Colorado. We get heavy snow sometimes, it just snowed probably 6-8 inches over the past few days. Winter temps usually have highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 20s, but can dip well below that on occasion. We also get strong winds occasionally, but on average it's not too windy.

The coop is draft-free and pretty sturdy though, I got a coop and run from OverEZ.

 

[azygous]

Well, then, howdy neighbor! My chickens and I were just today talking about how glad we are not to be any farther north during this cold spell. It's uncomfortable enough down here in the southern edge of the state with just an inch of snow, not that it makes any difference in the cold.

And the chickens are also feeling very sorry for themselves being in the middle of molt. You may be interested in reading this article documenting my experience brooding chicks over the years and how I arrived at brooding them outdoors now. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

 

[Chickennn]

Thanks, great article. I think I'll get them into the garage sooner than I was planning and get them outdoors as soon as I can run some electricity there for heating.

 

[Chickennn]

Hey I just want to update this thread. I hung up a big infrared heating plate in the coop. I was still worried the chicks might be getting cold so I also put some layers of bricks around it so they can adjust their distance from the heating plate if they need to. Last night it got down to ~16F or so and this morning and the ambient air temperature in the coop was below freezing overnight - the water I put out for them was frozen in the morning.

It seems like this setup is working great. They all look happy and healthy today. I have had them outside full-time for a few days now and it's great to get them out of the house.