Brooder temp questions

[Maple Hill Homestead]

First time chicken owner here. We just got 8 one week old chicks yesterday (Friday), I've got a heat lamp in their brooder while I wait for a heating pad to make a mama hen cave for them. The first night (yesterday night) two of the chicks chose to huddle together just outside the area that the heat lamp heats which I thought was fine, they are self-regulating. By morning, one of the little chicks was dead, I presumed because he got too cold. Ok, so I'll watch the heat a little closer. I have a thermometer under the heat lamp and I've double checked it, it's just as accurate as any other thermometer I've tested in there, they all read the same temperature in the same conditions.

So today (Saturday) I experimented with the heat lamp. I tried to keep it near 95 degree. The temperature would vary between 90 at the lowest and 100 at the highest but the chicks would complain loudly. So I adjusted the lamp so that the median temperature was 97. It would get as cool 93 and as warm as 102 under the lamp but the birds were happy and just chirping quietly, playing and just coming to get warm every now and then under the lamp. I figured happy chicks were better than some information in a book so I left it that way.

I just woke up now,late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, and decided to check on them. They were all spread out along the edge of the area the heat lamp heats, checked the thermometer and it read 108 under the middle where none of the birds were thankfully! I adjusted the lamp height and it is now back to around 100 in the middle of the lamp area but geez Louise! The birds were all laid out in the floor of the coop but they were just asleep.

Do I just need to make the mama heat cave a priority since our house (the brooder is in our kitchen, the only place we have room for it) has wildly fluctuating temps anyways even to us? Am I just being neurotic about the heat lamp because we lost one the first night that may or may not have been heat/chill related? The other chick that was cuddled with the one that died, got pasty butt today but seems fine otherwise. None of the other chicks have had any issues. The one that died and the one that got pasty butt are the same breed, either RIR or Production Red we aren't sure. They were "surprise" chicks. They are also just a little smaller than the other chicks, so the smallest chicks of the bunch. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Mvan42]

Pictures of your brooder set up will help.

Most chicks will do what yours did when the center is to hot. Try raising the heat lamp a little. Week old chicks I think need around 90 degrees. Then it lowers from there.

The one that died, well the heat issue may not have been the reason. Some chicks hatch with other health problems and there’s nothing to be done.

 

[Maple Hill Homestead]

I'll try and get some pictures in a little bit.

They are all up now and all seem fine. I know the books all say week old chicks need around 90 but when I was trying to keep it around 90, they all complained loudly and huddled under the lamp. When I try to keep it around 95 to 100, they just cheep softly and run around and play. They only come back to the heat lamp area to get warm for a few minutes and then go play again instead of huddling under the lamp. I figured it was better to observe their behavior than strictly do what the book says.

Do they complain loudly when the temp gets lowered at first? Do I need to let them tough it out and they will get used to the new lower temperature?

 

[Maple Hill Homestead]

Please excuse the mess, cleaning the brooder is on the to do list today. It has 20 inch cardboard sides inside an old outdoor playpen for kids. It has two more panels I can add to make it bigger when they get bigger. Bottom is cardboard wrapped in a plastic bag with a couple of inches of pine shavings on top. When I took the pictures, the temp under the lamp was between 100 - 104 according to the thermometer. The chicks were running all over and just coming under the lamp for warmth every now and then but not huddling under it. The ambient room temperature in my kitchen was 68 - 70. The stripe of light is from the plant lights near by. I have a ceramic reptile bulb that doesn't emit any light but emits lots of heat in the lamp.

 

[Mvan42]

Set up look fine. My guess is that if they seem to want the night temp then allow it. They will self regulate what they need... if you notice them not being near the heat as much hen lower it. But them laying on the outside ring is fine. As long as they are eating and drinking. They should be fine..

 

[mdees88]

I've never hatched chickens but I've hatched close to a thousand quail and pheasants. All I've ever used is heat lamps and I haven't had any issues. I like to keep the hot end a little hotter than they need and the cool end a little cooler. The chick's will position themselves where they're most comfortable. The only time you run into problems is when the hot end is not hot enough.

Here's one of my old brooders and the hot end was a little hotter than I wanted (I now use dimmer swithces) but all the quail would sleep on the edge of the light where they're comfortable.....

 

[rosemarythyme]

Set up looks fine - decent amount of space and the heat is mainly in one corner. If where the lamp currently sits seems to be making them mostly happy (they're somewhat spread out, no obvious sounds of distress) I wouldn't mess with it for now. I'd go by their behavior more than what the thermometer says.