I have a heat-plate related question. I have the large Premeir plate for now 23 birds. I was using a heat lamp in addition to the heat plate for the first week - there was still plenty of room to get to cooler part of the brooder. Then I weaned them off the heat lamp, first using it only in the coldest hours of the morning, and now at just over 3 weeks, I don't use it at all - just the heat plate. The chicks still retreat to it periodically during the day, and they sleep all night in the dark under it, then waking up and going crazy at daybreak. This all seems very natural to me, and they seem to be doing well. They still take periodic siestas under the plate during the day.
Now, I am planning to move them to the coop in the next week or 2 depending on feathering and temps. They seem to still fit under the large plate now, but I worry they may not fit well in another week or two, so I am not sure what to do in the coop to provide adequate heat (it is a metal sided coop with dirt floor, and I plan to use the deep litter method). It gets into the 30s here at night and will continue to do that for quite a few weeks (we are in the mountains). I have a red heat lamp, so I am thinking I should use that, maybe in addition to the heat plate when I first move them out to the garage. I would wait longer to move them, except my brooder is not going to be big enough for much longer. My question for this thread is, will I mess up their wonderful sleeping habits or freak them out by using a red light through the night in the coop for a while? Oh, and I am considering moving the fully feathered part of the flock out earlier than the laggers (I've posted that question in another thread) - in which case, I would have only the heat lamp for the outside coop. I have no existing flock. This will be the first chicks in the coop.
Now, I am planning to move them to the coop in the next week or 2 depending on feathering and temps. They seem to still fit under the large plate now, but I worry they may not fit well in another week or two, so I am not sure what to do in the coop to provide adequate heat (it is a metal sided coop with dirt floor, and I plan to use the deep litter method). It gets into the 30s here at night and will continue to do that for quite a few weeks (we are in the mountains). I have a red heat lamp, so I am thinking I should use that, maybe in addition to the heat plate when I first move them out to the garage. I would wait longer to move them, except my brooder is not going to be big enough for much longer. My question for this thread is, will I mess up their wonderful sleeping habits or freak them out by using a red light through the night in the coop for a while? Oh, and I am considering moving the fully feathered part of the flock out earlier than the laggers (I've posted that question in another thread) - in which case, I would have only the heat lamp for the outside coop. I have no existing flock. This will be the first chicks in the coop.