Brooder light... When to turn it off

[shorty7978]

Gate,

I'm in Texas where the days are getting into the 90's and the nights are probably 70-75 my chicks are about 3 weeks old and they are outside in their coop. I have a light out there but i dont turn it on during the day because of how hot its stays in the "brooder" my thermometer is around 90-95 during the day everyday without the light. In fact one day we hit in the 100's and when i went out to look at my chickens they were all panting and looked like they were going to flop over. I plugged in a small fan outside the brooder to move some air because it was scolding in there. That was only one day though. Last night my lamp went out and when i noticed it wasnt working i went out to the coop that was at 6 this morning thinking oh geez someone has froze. No they were all walking around eating the breakfast even my silkies who dont have nearly as many feathers as my wyandottes seemed okay. I am going to leave the light on for at least another week or two at night but with our weather i dont dare leave it on during the day they are just getting too hot. I am new to this so someone else may have a different opinion but I am going off my gut here and so far everyone seems to be doing fine. I pay attn to what the chicks are telling me....are they huddle or are they panting...I have even put a few ice cubes in their waterer during the day when we reach 98 because its just so hot...the brooder seems to be about 10 degrees warmer then outside. I think it would be nice to hear from someone who is in our area and experiencing this HOT weather also!

Laurie

 

[Mag14]

i have raised many broods of chicks the past few years- i think we have a tendency to keep them too warm. I have not used a thermometer- and I discourage it in my friends asking for brooding advice.
Go by how the chicks are acting. If they are pecking around, sleeping under the light, and just peeping contentedly then they are doing fine. If they are scattered far apart- they are too warm, and if they are huddled together and/or peeping in distress they are too cold.
Keep the food and water away from the light, be sure there is good air circulation.
I used to keep my brooder in a heated room. Now it is outside near my chicken house. I live in a cool climate- north coast of caifornia- most days are in the 60s- low 70s is warm.
When the sun is out, I take the top of the brooder off and put a screen frame so they can have natural sunlight- sometimes I unplug the brooder during the warmest part of a sunny day.
when you watch mama hens- they take their babies outside on day one or two. The babies run around outside and when they get cold she warms them under her for a while. I have taken a lesson from that and tried not to coddle them with too much warmth...

good luck all!

sounds like you live near or in CC.. my home town! gotta love the temps! an the rain! I know my chickens here in the hot CA weather been miserable! Lucky you!