Brooder temperature questions

[LeskoLayers]

ok! they are in the garage they just over 3 weeks old and at peak daytime hour its about 70 in there. Today I started to turn the light off. (the red heat one) Its been getting to 50 at night so I will turn it on at like 8. Is it ok to just now get a 60 watt and put that in there for night time?

 

[debid]

I'd try that. If you go out and watch them for a while, they'll make it pretty obvious if they are warm enough. Cold chicks will try to climb under each other and peep loudly. Warm enough chicks will sleep near each other but not piled up. Hot chicks will sleep apart with their wings out a bit trying to release body heat.

 

[DuluthHomestead]

I have a related question. We're picking up our chicks on Tuesday, and are right now trying to find a good height for the heat lamp in our brooder. The best spot in the house for the brooder is in the mudroom off of the kitchen because it's convenient, accessible and we'll be able to check on them easily. The room is unheated and uninsulated, but has windows facing south and west, so it gets good light during the day and on sunny days it can get pretty warm out there. But then it cools off quite a bit at night or on overcast days.

Right now we've got the lamp set to where directly under the light is 85-110 (depending on the time of day and the weather) and the cooler side of the brooder is 65-80. Would this be acceptable or is it too much fluctuation? I realize I'll just have to monitor the chicks when they get here and see how they do, and I'll probably end up raising the lamp on hot, sunny days and lowering it at night, but for the first couple days especially I want to make sure that they're comfortable and settle in well.

(Blocking the windows or shading the room is not an option; I also use the mudroom to kind of half-harden off seedlings before I put them outside in the garden, so they'll need the light.)

 

[TLynnP]

Are you brooding in your house or outside? If in the house, there is no reason to use a 250W bulb. Ever. 60W is plenty in a 70-degree house and I'd have a 40 ready for when they have some feathers. If you're brooding outdoors, I use a 100W for temps over 30F and a 175W for teens through 20s. I alternated based on projected nighttime low and had to switch a few times with our wild spring weather changes. I found that if it's sunny and 70+, I need to pull the plug during the day with my setup. Yes, even with young chicks -- the sun is an effective h

I have my brooder inside, keep my temp at 69 and found the 250W way too hot!! I couldn't regulate the temp. I switched to a 125W white heat lamp and hated it - couldn't regulate the temp on that either. I finally bought a 75W red heat light and have had much better luck. I also set it up so the heat lamp was directly over head and not clipped to the side. That definitely helped with regulating the temperature. I also started with a plastic tote for the brooder and quickly switched to a wood one that I made from scraps. The plastic seemed to incubate the temperature. This is my first experience with chickens and it is a learning process. I also have a thermometer in the brooder. I'm not sure how accurate it is - it's a cheap digital one - but it has helped me to lower the temperature each week. The weather is finally warming up here in NC and hope to have the birds outside end of week 4.

 

[JekkaLynn]

The place I got my two week old chicks from kept them in a garage/mudroom and for the last few days they had them they only put the lamp on at night or really cold/damp days.

 

[JekkaLynn]

We have them in our house in the laundry room. Can we do the same or will they get to cold?

 

[TnMama]

I've got mine under a heat lamp in my dog kennel turned brooder. Some of the babies are a week old, but 5 are only a few days old. The light is at one end. & feed at the other. The new ones sleep right under the light, esp the bantams. The others sleep along the sides. We've already turned our air on here so my house doesn't get above 71. I turned the lamp off for 30 mins today bc I thought they were hot. Well, they seem to freeze & when I plugged the light back up they were piled on top of each other. I'm going to keep the lamp on another week, bc of the bantams, then switch to a flood light.