A little confused about progression of heat to no heat

[Witchychickens]

Hi all! I am currently raising 7 chicks in my basement bedroom.

Temp in the room is over 80 with a space heater on low.

I have a heat plate brooder.

My chicks are all roughly 7 days.

I do have one small silkie, everyone seems happy, chirping, eating, drinking, sleeping, pooping.

I had the plate set to low on its legs one side and higher on the other, it’s on heater setting. Temp under the brooder in the center is 95 degrees.

What’s the next step? Do I raise it on all legs? Leave it on heater or change to brooder?

I tried to find information but wasn’t seeing anything specific.

 

[JennH07]

I have never used one of those I always just use heat lamps but I have been thinking of getting a plate to brew new chicks. I know with the heat lamp you start out with the light very low so it keeps everybody warm and toasty and then you slowly lift it a few inches at a time as they get bigger they need less heat until eventually they don't need any but just a few inches at a time

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know what "heater" and "brooder" settings are so best to read the instructions. Does it have any sort of temperature control like high and low? You will have to raise it as they grow so they can continue to fit under it, but if there's additional temperature controls that's something you can fiddle with as well.

With the way you're set up, the most obvious thing is to turn down the space heater and gradually drop the ambient temperature of the room. Every 4-5 days or so dial it down or move it further away to bring down the temperature.

 

[RoyalChick]

I use a heat plate set at an angle as you describe. They will be fine in a room certainly down to 60 degrees. At two weeks or even 10 days I move them outside with the plate and have done so with night temps going down to the 40s. Although I was nervous about that they did fine. They just run under the plate to warm up.
I start in my bathroom and the temperature is around 70 but I usually lower the heating down to 60 after their first day or two.

Check out this thread. If you scan through you will see lots of posts from people using a mana heating pad (essentially a home made heating plate brooder) and how to acclimatize the chicks to outside temperatures. As long as they have a warm plate to run under they are OK in quite cold temps.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

 

[wrathsfarm]

If its like mine the 'heater' setting is meant for vertical coop heater setup only.
'Brooder' setting is for horizontal.
*Note the wattage output between the two settings and the caution to only use 'heater' setting in vertical position.

Edited to add.. as far as temps for the chicks, go with what others have suggested by raising the brooder plate to reduce heat gradually as the chicks feather out. They will naturally start spending less time under it, adjusting their own heat needs accordingly. Eventually not using it at all.

 

[azygous]

You are correct to consider the ambient (room) temperature as well as the "footprint" temp under the heat plate. But the other consideration is the chicks progress in feathering out. These factors all work together in guiding you in providing the right amount of heat for the developing chicks.

It helps to understand the principle behind chick heat needs. When chicks hatch, they are only covered in thin down which is extremely poor insulation. At this stage, chicks are as vulnerable as featherless reptiles that are at the mercy of changing heat levels in their environment. Both baby chickens and snakes and lizards regulate their body temperatures by moving toward or away from a heat source.

This is the reason why we provide heat at around 95F for new baby chicks during the first week when they are pretty much featherless. However, if the room is very warm where the brooder sits, your chicks will lose body heat at a much slower rate than they would in a cool room or even outdoors. So you wouldn't need to have their heat source that warm. In a very warm room or a tropical environment, you would probably need to provide 80F to your new chicks.

By the end of the first week, the chicks are developing real feathers on their wings, and this provides some insulation against heat loss. The heat source temp can be reduced. This is important as cool temperatures actually aid in the rate of new feather growth. When I began brooding chicks outdoors in my protected run, I was surprised at how much faster the chicks feathered out. They were nearly fully feathered at five weeks as compared to indoor brooded chicks which weren't feathered out until age six weeks.

It's easy to judge how much heat your chicks need, though. You only need observe their behavior. Chicks that require less heat will avoid it. Chicks requiring a warmer heat source will hog it. To give your chicks exactly the right amount of heat requires only watching them and adjusting the heat source up or down accordingly.

 

[BiggDeal]

Hi all! I am currently raising 7 chicks in my basement bedroom.

Temp in the room is over 80 with a space heater on low.

I have a heat plate brooder.

My chicks are all roughly 7 days.

I do have one small silkie, everyone seems happy, chirping, eating, drinking, sleeping, pooping.

I had the plate set to low on its legs one side and higher on the other, it’s on heater setting. Temp under the brooder in the center is 95 degrees.

What’s the next step? Do I raise it on all legs? Leave it on heater or change to brooder?

I tried to find information but wasn’t seeing anything specific.

No turn to brooder temp instead of heater and keep the way you have it on angle it will stay 85 under there and then raise as they get older change temp by 5 degree a week till fully feathered about 5-6 weeks … which they will probably want no heat by about 5 weeks anyway to 6