Time to cut the heat?

[ktornadoes]

My 7 chicks are 2 weeks old today. I'm brooding them in my garage where I'm having trouble keeping the brooder temp around 85 degrees. Now I need to drop the temp to around 80. Is it ok that I turn the heat lamp off at only 2 weeks old? My brooder is 6x4 so the chicks have plenty of room to get away from the heat lamp and none of them seem uncomfortable at all. I don't want them to get spoiled in a 85-90 degree brooder when I go to put them in their coop in a couple weeks. I'd appreciate any advice...thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

First don’t get too hung up in that 90m to 95 degrees the first week then drop it by 5 each week. That’s extremely cautious, extremely safe. The vast majority of chicks do not need it that warm. Still it is a guideline that will keep most people very safe, even if their brooder management or construction is awful. It’s just overkill for most of us. Let your chicks tell you what they need. If they spread out all over you are doing it right.

What temperature is your garage, day and night? I assume you are heating one area and the rest cools off as it will? I suggest you turn the heat off, at least during the daytime and when you can check on them. See how they react. They might get upset at first if they are used to bright light all the time and all of a sudden it is fairly dark, but watch them and see if they act cold. If they act Ok, they are OK.

Depending on nighttime temperature in there you might want to turn some heat back on at night, maybe not.

During a ridiculous for us heat wave a few years back I turned the daytime heat off at 2 days and the nighttime heat off at 5 days. Their body language told me they were ready for it and they were. My brooder was in my coop, not in the house or attached garage.

I’ve seen a chick less than a week old get separated from a broody most of the day with highs in the mid-80’s and survive with no ill effects. He wasn’t happy but he was OK. I’ve seen a broody take chicks to the roosts at two weeks with overnight lows in the mid 70’s. Not all could get under her and a couple spent the night totally on their own for warmth. They were fine.

Just try things and see how they react. They will tell you what they need much more than something you read.

Good luck!

 

[ktornadoes]

Thanks for the advice Ridgerunner! My garage is usually a few degrees cooler than outside during the day and a few degrees warmer than outside at night. We've been having mid 80's for highs lately and mid 60's for lows. I agree with you, I think I need to turn the heat lamp off during the day and turn it back on at night. I have the heat lamp on one end of the brooder so the chicks have plenty of room to avoid the heat if necessary. They're usually all over the brooder when awake but when they sleep they get closer to the heat lamp but not right under it. I feel they're happy because I don't see any signs of stress, no panting or wings spread, so I'll keep an eye on them with no heat on them during the day and at night I'll turn the lamp back on so I don't run the risk of them getting too cool. Thanks again!