4 Week old chicks in basement

[mrsgibber]

Hi everyone. My babies are coming home either tomorrow or Thursday. Our makeshift brooder is all set up in front of a big window in our basement and we have a heat lamp over hanging over the cage.

My husband is very nervous about the 250 watt brooder lamp catching something on fire though we have it a safe distance from everything. Anyway, the chicks are feathering in and I just checked the thermometer I placed in the brooder this morning to see how cold it gets over night without the lamp. It was about 52 degrees.

Is this too cold for chicks of this age? I read in my book that they will feather in faster if it is kept cooler too.

What do all you experts think?

 

[ranchhand]

IMO, that's too cold. If they're feathering in, they must be 3-4 weeks old? So, about 75- 80 degrees F. would be better.

 

[briana1975]

I am no expert. We are just staring out. We have the same set up it sounds like. Our brooder is in the basement that gets very cold. With the light on as close as I would put it to the shavings we were only getting temps up 85. We have 2 turkey poults in the brooder. We do have a propane radiant heater. Once we turned that on the temp stablized at 95. The heater is on the lowest setting. Just high enough to take the chill off and it keep the basement temp about 60 or 62. Hope this helps.

 

[mrsgibber]

Ok, I thought it would be too cold. They will be four weeks old when I bring them home. When I use the brooder lamp I'm able to get them temps up to 75/80 so I think that is right where it should be for their age correct?

 

[CityClucks]

You're right - 75/80 degrees for 4 week-old chicks. Don't forget to show us photos when they get here!

 

[mrsgibber]

I will definitely post lots of pics. I am trying to bring them home tonight if I can get the person I bought them from to call me back today!!!

 

[cockadoodle]

I had a very simular setup too in my basement and was afraid of catching something on fire.

I have exposed floor joists in the basement that I screwed a hefty hook into (big enough hook to support a mountain bike for example). I took some light weight chain and connected that to the hook, with a smaller S hook looking thing and then looped that chain around the hoop on the brooder light fixture. The house would have to collapse for this light to catch anything on fire now, and it's easy to adjust the height of the light too. My chicks are in a different brooder now than the one on my byc page, but if you have the same light, you can definintely make it safe.

~Mark