Are these chicks content or hot?

[VaM715]

My first hatch is going so great. 30 out of 36 so far!! I have tem in a small brooder until they all hatch. The thermometer reads about 88 dead center of the heat lamp and they are all sleeping in a semicircle at the edge of the brooder. They are not peeping or gaping, nor do they appear to be piling up on each other. Some are touching but nobody appears to be in any distress. I"ve seen them eat and drink. None are more than about 24 hours old. I have a pic but can;t figure out how to put it on here.

 

[airmom1c05]

They sound fine. To post your picture, upload it to a place like Photobucket. Then click on the "IMG" link under the uploaded picture. After that, paste it in the message box on this forum. That's all!

 

[VaM715]

Let's try looking at this!!!

 

[Cetawin]

They look a bit warm...they are all on the exterior of the lamp zone and snuggling...raise the lamp a tad and see how they act...if they spread out around the brooder.

 

[airmom1c05]

Aw, you did GREAT! I have never brooded chicks, but I have read that if they get as far away from the light as possible, they may be too warm. Experiment with raising the light a bit and see what happens. Of course, if they all huddle under the light, they are too cold.

You do show a couple under it, so they are most likely content. Keep watching for panting. I WANT SOME BABY CHICKS so I CAN SHARE PICS!

I have to wait until April 4th to see if the 3 eggs under my broody Serama will hatch or not. The waiting is hard. Thanks for sharing your chick pics.

 

[twigg]

They look too hot.

They would prefer 95F at this age, so I would suspect your thermometer, as that looks hotter than they want.

Check it with another thermometer.

 

[VaM715]

Does this look better? I raised the 250watt infrared about 6 inches and changed thermometers. Temp now reads about 93.

 

[Cetawin]

They look great to me. They are spread out and in smaller groups and in the light of the heat lamp. As long as they are not panting it looks good. When they start skirting away from the lamp again, just raise it a tad maybe an inch or so at a time.

What a beautiful bunch of babies you have.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, that last pic is great! Congrats on the babies!

 

[twigg]

That's a *textbook* brooder pic ... good job.