2.5 week old chicks sleeping

[chickenliz123]

Hi,
I removed my heat lamp fairly recently since the feathers are almost all in and I live in a warm climate. At night, I have been keeping the heat lamp on. The chicks sleep almost on top of one another in the corner when I do this. Is that normal? Are they too hot? Are they too cold? The rest of the day, they are moving around, chirping away, but the minute I turn on the heat lamp, they get really sedentary.

 

[Judy]

It sounds to me like they are too hot and trying to get away from the heat -- but really that's only a guess. You could try putting them in a larger area with the heat available and see uf they move even farther away. Actually, you can take them for outings during the day if you wish. You may even be able to move them into their coop in a week or so.

 

[ChaoSS]

Which corner, the one with the heat lamp or the one opposite the heat lamp?

 

[azygous]

The temperature gradient recommendation of 100 F degrees for hatchings and decreasing it every week by 5 degrees is simply a general guideline. Most chicks actually prefer their environment much cooler than that. I found that even day-olds prefer it not much above 80.

Where are you? If the daytime temps are at least 70, your chicks can enjoy going outdoors for a romp and to try out their new wings. I just adore their attempts at low-level flight!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If they are crowding under the lamp, they are too cold. If they are getting as far away from the heat as they can, they are too warm. If they get too hot, they can get sedentary. Though if they are too hot, they tend to line up away from the heat instead of pile up, but that will depend some on what your brooder looks like and where the heat source is positioned.

Chicks normally sleep in a group, usually in a corner so they think they have some protection. Are they just going to bed?

Warm is a fairly nebulous term. What kind of temperatures, daytime and night, are you talking about, right under the light and in the far corner of your brooder? Your brooder needs to be big enough so that one area can be kept warm but other areas cool off quite a bit so they can find their own comfort zone. Too much heat is more dangerous that being a little cool.

My brooder is outside in the coop. During winter I’ve kept heat on for five weeks. During an unreal heat wave a couple of years back, I turned the daytime heat off at 2 days and the overnight heat off at 5 days. I’ve had a broody hen take her chicks to the roost at two weeks of age. Not all could fit under her to stay warm. A couple even slept together on the end of a 2x4 vertical brace on the coop wall, not under the broody at all. They were fine.

Each group is different, even if the weather is similar. I let the chicks tell me what they need. I’m not sure if your chicks are just going to bed in a group because they enjoy each other’s company or if they are trying to tell you something.

Good luck in figuring it out.