Ok without heat lamp? - Page 2

Sorry to go against the grain here, but the bigger they get, the more likely they will be to feather pick on each other with a light that's not red.  And surely you plan on getting more chicks in the future?!  

  I'm just saying it is easier to prevent problems than to fix them.  I would buy another red heat bulb.  We bought a spare when we first got out chicks to avoid the situation you are unfortunately dealing with now.

  Just my two cents'!

Aero: The only chick I've had feather picked was 1 that went to the coop alone (I usually put them out in groups) with chicks she had not already been around. I managed to rescue her in time & applied Neosporin to the tender areas. She went into a smaller brooder for a few days & then rejoined the other smaller chicks in the big brooder. No feather picking at all in my brooders & all I have ever used is the regular 100 watt household bulbs. Even the chick who was already picked at hasn't been picked on in the brooder.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gracejr 


I don't plan on having more chicks this year, no. We have another 5 (maybe 6) started pullets arriving in June, so we'll be at capacity after that.
I don't want to use a regular light bulb, half the time one of us winds up sleeping on the couch, so they need a red bulb for as long as they need heat. I could use a light bulb during the daytime, but not at night. They seem fine right now, so I'll just keep an eye on them. The 4 amber links are pretty well feathered, the red sexlinks not quite so much, but they're still far more feathers than down.

I put chicks out in the coop over a month ago that were 2-3 weeks old with no light at all. We've had temps down in the low 30's-high 20's since then & all have been fine. It just depends on how well feathered they are, how many there are to huddle together for warmth (I added 6 new ones to about 8 older ones) and how well insulated your coop is. I just made sure everyone was in the coop at night & shut the door for added warmth. Now that temps have been pretty much staying above 50 at night I don't even close the coop door anymore at night. I let them go in & out as they please since my run is predator proof. Yours are in the house so you know it's not going to be near that cold. Give them a couple nights inside gradually lowering the temp at night & within a couple nights they won't even need the light any more.

I have always used a normal light bulb and have NEVER had any feather picking or any other problems.  

Why don't you just move the brooder to a different room then you won't see the light at night.  The warmth is the most important thing at NIGHT not in the day, as this is the time when they are less active and not making so much body heat.

Sorry but it sounds like you don't really care about you chicks, more about your sleep.  It will take very little effort to give them a lamp bulb for a day or 2 until you can go buy a new red one.

Maybe they will be OK without heat......but why take that chance when you don't need to?  

If you only had your other lamp for a few days then the shop should give you a free replacement or a refund...so its not costing you any more money.

I put mine in an 'apartment' (multiple smaller enclosed pens inside a poorly insulated/unheated frame building) at three to four weeks. Through 6 weeks, if temps drop below 60 inside, I use a heater for them. There's usually 100 going in at a time, so they have plenty of snuggle buddies and four to six inches of shavings.  They handle it just fine!

In brooders I do use standard bulbs - I keep an assortment of wattages there so I can get the temp I want. and the brooders are in the greenhouse, so they're not going to get chilled if a bulb goes out.  I've never had any pecking issue at that age; they behave pretty well until onset of laying. 

You guys are all lucky!  I did have what looked like feather picking starting, even with a red bulb, and we doubled the size of our brooder and it stopped.  I just shudder to think what may have happened if one of them actually drew blood and there was a regular light in there!  But, these are my first chicks and I am awfully paranoid about them!  

  It's really nice to hear how other people have been successful doing it different ways 

Sounds like they will be just fine Grace. I got my info on putting mine in the coop from a farmer of many years who raises chickens. He told me as long as they were feathered mostly on wings & chest that they no longer needed a light & would be fine in a well insulated coop as long as they could huddle together. I put 8 out that first night at about 4 weeks old. A week later I added 7 more that were 2-3 weeks old. All have been fine, but like I said before, I shut my coop door even with a secure run for the first 2-3 weeks until I knew night time temps were staying pretty much above 50F. I don't have a way to run electric to my coop for a heat lamp & my son needed his bedroom back (as did I since he thot he had to sleep with me) since the brooders were in his room & he would stay up all night to play with them if given a chance. Now my chicks stay in long enuf to feather in remotely well & make sure I have several ready to go out at once to avoid them getting picked on too badly. Chicks have been growing up in coops for thousands of years. They know how to group together to keep warm.

Mine got very noisy when they accidentally got too cool. I'd listen to them.