Heat for baby chicks?

[Tman992]

I recently hatched 8 American Game Bantams. I dont wont to use a heat lamp so since its summer I have a room that stays about 100 dagrees farnihite. Could I use this room instead of a heat lamp the air is circulated.

 

[BlackBriars]

Chicks need to be able to regulate body temperature by varying their distance from a heat source. In a 100 degree room, they would be unable to cool down.

 

[azygous]

People mistakenly think that since the heat guidelines say that newly hatched chicks should be between 95 and 100F, that means the entire enclosure they're inside. It's very misleading, and not true.

Think of the heat needs of a baby chick being like your heat needs when you are out on a camp-out. A campfire is a necessity to warm you if it's very cold, but you aren't glued to it. You move back and forth from it to maintain a comfortable body temperature. It's the same with chicks. They are very much like us hairless humans in the respect they have trouble regulating their body temperature with without external heat.

But just like the campfire would quickly overheat you if you were unable to move away from it, a baby chick would quickly become overheated if it couldn't move away from a 100 degree heat source.

Many, many baby chicks have died because their owners misinterpreted the heat guidelines. Baby chicks are best kept at temperatures that may be even a little cooler than you find comfortable, but with a heat source that will warm them back up to around 100 degrees.

The crucially important thing to understand is they need plenty of room to get AWAY from the heat source as they feel themselves getting too warm. Your 100 degree room would be a seriously dangerous place to keep a baby chick.