3 and 1/2 weeks, too hot?

[Barbeque]

I have a 150 watt bulb at 2 feet above them, is this too hot for them? I have it pointed to a corner & they sleep pretty much anywhere in the brooder.

 

[ladybuglives]

I have wondered this myself but I now have witnessed the activity when it's too hot -- my girls move to the side of the box and pant like a dog -- waaay too hot! I've lifted the heat lamp up and all is well...

 

[Barbeque]

well I like to leave the light on, so I can see them at night.
I don't wanna cook em though!

 

[ranchhand]

Should be at about 75F now. Do you have a thermometer in the brooder? Is it a red light?

 

[Barbeque]

Nope and nope.

 

[ranchhand]

Well, dang. You can judge by whether they scatter about or cluster under the light, but I like to have a more accurate reading. No biggie though. As for the red light- they don't see the red spectrum as well, so they rest more easily and don't do as much picking on each other. Keeps them calmer.

 

[Barbeque]

Oh. Anyway to change that?
I really can't invest in another light, this one was $20 or something.

I have to pay $120 for the coop (great deal!

)
sooooo....

 

[ranchhand]

I found a 100 watt red outdoor spotlight at a hardware store for $6.00. I use the 250 watt red when brooding in the unheated shop, the 100 watt red when brooding in the house.

Over time I have found that chicks don't really NEED to start at 95F - starting at 90F with a red bulb seems to really work. Reduce the temp by 5 degrees per week.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I lost power during those really bad storms Tennessee had a week and a half ago.


My four Delaware chicks were two weeks old at the time I lost power, and I was out of power for over 12 hours.


The chicks seemed to handle it just fine. It was night when I first lost power, so I covered their cage with a woolen blanket. But by 10 am, the sun was heating up my house some, so I uncovered the two week old babies, and they did just fine without any lamp heat at all.


After that, my wife and I observed them, and they did not seem cold even after the power came back on. They seemed to just eat, drink, play and sleep normally with absolutely no sign of them being cold. So we never turned the heat lamp back on.


Of course, Delaware chicks do feather out quicker than some other breeds...