Baby chicks in brooder problems and need help please?

[JULIE L CORWIN]

My chicks are in a stock tank brooder. I haven't had this many problems before. Have raised 3 batches in stock tank brooder. But this is the first time that I've raised them in late July and early Auguast. The temp outside is 79 now. My set up is the brooder is 3 feet wide. By 2 feet high and 8 foot long. I have pine chips. Not a heavy amount in the bottom. But just the right amount .So they will not slip with leg problems and enough for warmth at night. I currently have 2 heath lamps. 2 water sources and a feeder and 16 new born baby chicks. Without the mother So here is my problems
1. Had trouble with pasting. Got ACV and have that in the water currently.To help with the pasting.
2. The Temp in the brooder. If I have a heat lamp on .The temp gets to hot for them. Above 95 or hotter. Have raised the heat lamp as high as it will go.Even with it raised it gets to hot. I have the brooder in a garage. With all the doors and windows open. A fan at least 6 feet away from the brooder .Close to a window.for circulation in the garage.
If I turn the heat lamp off. The temp gets to 86 degrees. All the chicks seem happy with that.
Is it ok to keep the heat lamp off? It's not to dark for them. I check on them every half hour. If it gets to cold low 80's. I turn the heat lamp on for a short time. Till the temp goes in low 90's.
Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your in put.

 

[AlleysChicks]

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

My chicks are in a stock tank brooder. I haven't had this many problems before. Have raised 3 batches in stock tank brooder. But this is the first time that I've raised them in late July and early Auguast. The temp outside is 79 now. My set up is the brooder is 3 feet wide. By 2 feet high and 8 foot long. I have pine chips. Not a heavy amount in the bottom. But just the right amount .So they will not slip with leg problems and enough for warmth at night. I currently have 2 heath lamps. 2 water sources and a feeder and 16 new born baby chicks. Without the mother So here is my problems
1. Had trouble with pasting. Got ACV and have that in the water currently.To help with the pasting.
2. The Temp in the brooder. If I have a heat lamp on .The temp gets to hot for them. Above 95 or hotter. Have raised the heat lamp as high as it will go.Even with it raised it gets to hot. I have the brooder in a garage. With all the doors and windows open. A fan at least 6 feet away from the brooder .Close to a window.for circulation in the garage.
If I turn the heat lamp off. The temp gets to 86 degrees. All the chicks seem happy with that.
Is it ok to keep the heat lamp off? It's not to dark for them. I check on them every half hour. If it gets to cold low 80's. I turn the heat lamp on for a short time. Till the temp goes in low 90's.
Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your in put.

IMO, adjusting the temperature to ensure the chicks' comfort is of paramount importance. I'm brooding chicks right now, too, and it's been as hot as 106 with the heat index here. Young chicks stay in a brooder cage with a heating pad setup (like Mama Heating Pad, thread here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/) and when it's that warm outside, the non climate-controlled building that they're housed in obviously heats up, too - with the MHP, they can jump on top if it's too warm underneath, or walk away from it entirely. In summer, my chicks seem to only need heat for the first week (meaning they go under the heating pad) and then they sit on top of it for about another week. After that, they may not use it at all. I take my cues, like when to remove the MHP, from their behavior. I like the MHP setup because it allows the chicks to determine the amount of warmth they need, and to get away from the heat if necessary.

Back to your questions: if the chicks look comfortable without the heat lamp, then it should be fine to leave it off during the day. If the temperatures drop at night, though, I'd make sure they can get to a warmer place if they need it. You may want to consider using an MHP setup to offer the chicks the ability to choose how much heat they need. I started by using heat lamps, and wouldn't go back to them (for a number of reasons, including fire risk). The raw ACV and lowering the heat should help with the pasting, too. I can't tell how many chicks you have in your brooder, but if they're crowded, that may also impact their comfort level.

Good luck!

 

[imnukensc]

Sounds like your temps are too hot to me which is probably causing the pasty butt. Don't know where you're located, but if I were you I'd turn the heat lamp off and leave it off.

 

[JULIE L CORWIN]

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

 

[JULIE L CORWIN]

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

 

[JULIE L CORWIN]

For pasty butt I found the best thing is probiotics and electrolytes in the water for a few days and have a bowl of chick grit on the side. You'll have to wash their butts off for a few days until you notice it is no longer sticking.

Now for the temp. You have 2 lamps correct? What kind of bulb are you using and can you turn one lamp off? I assume you have a lamp on each side of the brooder?

 

[JULIE L CORWIN]

I thought before your reply. Why you stupid idiot. Me not you. If the heat is to hot change the bulb. I HAD a 250 watt bulb in. So changed it to a 125 watt. I have kept it on 125 watt for about an hour and the temp has only gone to 93. Usually it could climb past 93 in about 10 minuites. Yes I have 2 bulbs in the brooder. But only one runs. The other bulb is a 250 and it's off.. I run the 250 at night. So I had 250 watt bulbs in but have now a 250 and a 125. I cover that end of the brooder. So it stays warm at night. Leaving a cool end for them to go if they want.

 

[AlleysChicks]

Glad you've got the temp down. And hope you don't have anymore problems

 

[lazy gardener]

Julie, you may find that the lower wattage bulb will be just fine at night also. IMO the standard protocol for heat lamp adjustment calls for too much heat. While a starting place for temp adjustment is a good idea, especially for newbies, those numbers keep the chicks too warm and delay their adjustment to ambient temps. Weaning chicks from heat is an important part of the process. Mama broody provided heat as her chicks need it, but they spend a good part of their day running around, foraging with Mama, at what ever the ambient temp happens to be. A heating pad cave brooder more closely mimics the heat provided by a broody hen, and the chicks wean themselves off heat with very little input from the flock master.

If I were brooding in the summer months, I'd either use a heating pad cave, or consider a wool hen, or even a huddle box. IMO, that might be all the heat needed. You can find info about these options by doing a thread search.