Room Temperature for Baby Chicks

[Rurumo]

I'll be raising mine indoors, but I also have a strong HEPA filter near the brooder, adjusted so there is no breeze on the Chicks. I've raised small groups indoor before and a hepa filter helps immensely, but even with it there was still some dust. How much a person tolerates bird dust is up to the individual, you have to be a bit chill about these things if you want to raise them indoors.

 

[Ridgerunner]

People overthink this so much and impose restrictions that don't exist. Broody hens can raise chicks if the temperature is over 90 F every day, they can raise chicks if there is snow on the ground. They don't worry about how much cooler it has to be or about it dropping 5 degrees a week. There is no reason to make this that complicated.

What you need is one spot warm enough in the coolest of conditions and a spot cool enough in the warmest conditions. What is warm enough? If you were using some type of area heater like a radiator or heat lamp your chicks will tell you. If they are cold they get as close to the heat source as can. If they are hot they get as far from it as they can. If they are scattered or some are going back and forth they are fine. If the heated area is too hot they don't go in to stay very long. It can be too hot as long as they are not trapped there.

How cool is cool enough? Anywhere from freezing to probably 85 F. Chickens are not going to overheat at 85 F. They should be OK at 90 F but leave yourself a bit of a cushion. The risk of overheating is when the brooder is so small that your heating device raises the temperature throughout the brooder to a dangerous level. That's why I don't like heat lamps if you are using a small aquarium or bin, those are easy to overheat.

We purchased a brooder plate, but what I can't seem to find much info on is what the room temperature should be.

You can't find that information because with a heat plate it isn't that important as long as it is within the capabilities of the plate keeping them warm. Some manufacturers set that as a 50 F minimum, some don't mention it. Either of the three areas you mentioned would work. One thing I'd watch, you don't want a breeze hitting them, wind chill can be a problem. I don't recall anyone else mentioning that.

we don't want that kind of mess in the house. But maybe we don't want it on our freezers etc in our utility shed.

You might consider covering your freezers etc with old sheets.

I did not see where you mentioned where you are located. Most chicks can be in the coop without additional heat by the time they are 5 weeks old. But that will depend on your climate wherever you are.

The pet owner in me wants to see them when they are little and get to know them and be able to observe their behavior to make sure they are ok.

The entertainment and educational value of watching them is immense. They are easier to tame if you can be with them at a young age. Those "mess" comments about the dust are real though. Hopefully you can put on a coat and sit with them.

Where are my manners, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

 

[Beccichka]

I found an old post about survival rate. Help! They arrived yesterday morning and were shipped out Wednesday.
We ordered 25 chicks and got an extra one. Four were DOA and another barely alive. The barely alive died in the afternoon. Then another started going down hill that had previously looked decent. Then we observed 3 more not as vigorous-1 especially. Sure enough, the 1 is almost gone...the third one dying in husband's hands. The other two are ok, but you have to force them to drink and they aren't eating on their own. The night they were shipped, it was 15 degrees, so I'm sure that didn't help. Any thoughts? I don't think it's normal to lose this many.

 

[FunClucks]

I found an old post about survival rate. Help! They arrived yesterday morning and were shipped out Wednesday.
We ordered 25 chicks and got an extra one. Four were DOA and another barely alive. The barely alive died in the afternoon. Then another started going down hill that had previously looked decent. Then we observed 3 more not as vigorous-1 especially. Sure enough, the 1 is almost gone...the third one dying in husband's hands. The other two are ok, but you have to force them to drink and they aren't eating on their own. The night they were shipped, it was 15 degrees, so I'm sure that didn't help. Any thoughts? I don't think it's normal to lose this many.

I'm so sorry to hear that! You can post in the Emergencies forum if you want and get some good advice. But I think the basic advice is keep the heat at 95-100F right below the heat lamp at chick level, feed them water with electrolytes in it (Sav-A-Chick or Hydro-Hen or similar), and offer raw egg yolk. You can moisten chick crumbles with egg yolk and possibly warm it up (Keep it for a few hours before discarding, like you would for people food due to bacteria) to see it that will tempt them.

If you feel stronger measures are needed, you could research syringe feeding and see how you feel about that - there are risks, but it's akin to trying to feed baby (wild) birds.

Some chicks are just too stressed to recover, but I'll be crossing my fingers for you. So sorry!

 

[FunClucks]

Also, unfortunately, losing so many is not unheard of. Weather stresses them, and if the post office was not kind, then poor handling could also have contributed.

Most times, it has nothing to do with the hatchery, and is all the weather and the postal service. Take pics of any that pass away and look up your hatchery's shipping/refund policy for DOA and "dead after X hours" birds. They usually require photos as proof.

It doesn't fix anything, but getting a refund for the birds you lost can help a little.

 

[Beccichka]

Also, unfortunately, losing so many is not unheard of. Weather stresses them, and if the post office was not kind, then poor handling could also have contributed.

Most times, it has nothing to do with the hatchery, and is all the weather and the postal service. Take pics of any that pass away and look up your hatchery's shipping/refund policy for DOA and "dead after X hours" birds. They usually require photos as proof.

It doesn't fix anything, but getting a refund for the birds you lost can help a little.

Yes, thank you. The hatchery has been very responsive.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The night they were shipped, it was 15 degrees, so I'm sure that didn't help. Any thoughts? I don't think it's normal to lose this many.

Unfortunately it's normal when you ship in winter to expect some losses due to cold. This is why most folks opt for spring or even fall chicks.

I don't think I could ever order chicks, I'm paranoid of opening a box and finding dead babies so I pay the upcharge at the feed store for them to deal with any losses.

 

[Beccichka]

We are at 4 weeks tomorrow and have managed to keep the chickens inside to this point. I noticed they have been noisier at night. I decided to raise the brooder plates as they are quite big now. Tonight as they were trying to settle down, I went in there and noticed they were all uncomfortably huddled in one corner of the pen. I decided to raise the brooder plates quite high thinking maybe they can't fit. They still haven't decided to go under. Question-At what age do they not need the brooder plate anymore? The room is kept at about 65-86. Since they are 4 weeks old, they are not fully feathered yet. Thoughts?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Question-At what age do they not need the brooder plate anymore? The room is kept at about 65-86. Since they are 4 weeks old, they are not fully feathered yet. Thoughts?

They don't need to be fully feathered. At 4 weeks they're likely feathered enough to not need heat at 65F.

 

[Ridgerunner]

-At what age do they not need the brooder plate anymore? The room is kept at about 65-86.

They probably haven't needed it for a while in those temperatures. They know it is there, if they needed it they'd use it.

Even in hot weather chicks usually sleep in a group on the floor until they start to roost. It's not because they are cold, it's because they like the company. If they were cold they'd be giving a plaintive chirp. If you hear it you know something is wrong. Nothing like a normal chirp.