[Jukes Mum]

Hi All
I have hatched some chicks in an incubator and had them under a heat lamp since. The next batch is due to hatch on Tuesday so they will need to go under the lamp.
The first chicks will then be 3 weeks old. Will they be OK without heat?
One of my hens is a nice girl. Would it be possible to put them in with her to snuggle up to, or would she not do that?

[suziequeue]

They should be fine at three weeks. We put ours outside at three weeks - normally with a day or two indoors off the heat beforehand. They seem fine.

[Marches Farmer]

Don't put them in with a mature hen - worms, aggression, etc.  We put ours in a coop with plenty of shavings, under cover of a barn roof.  So long as they can get out of the wind and are dry they should be fine.  If the coop has wired sides put a baffle board around the bottom to keep the wind off them.

[Jukes Mum]

Oh, I thought with her being a nice hen that she might be OK with them. So they should be OK on their own with no heat? They will have their own house and run.