I have only brooded chickens in the spring when the temps were in the 30-40's. We are getting some chicks the week on July 15th. The temps here have been in the mid 80's or high 80's lately and the lows are about 65-70. Will I need a heat lamp during the day?
Any advice for brooding in the summer would be great!
Maybe for a week or two, or til they recover from shipping stress. I wouldn't make it much heat, maybe just a regular incandescent light bulb. I gather you will be brooding outdoors, which is the only way I do it. My last batch avoided the heat lamp entirely at 3 weeks even though nights were in the low 60's. I think the main thing is to make sure that have a choice, so they can avoid the heat and even get into a cool, shady, well ventilated spot if they are too warm.
It all depends on location. I couldn't tell you until I saw the set up and temps. Heres a good way to test tho (without talk of predator/escape or build):
Set up the brooder first with two thermometers at chick level. Check on it frequently (if it helps log temps w/ time down). If you brooding day olds and the temps at chick level are hitting 80's later in the morning/round noon I would suggest a lower watt light for an extra hr. After they have grown some feathers it may be safe to manually turn the brooder on and off early morning and night. Brooding outside takes trouble shooting and attention until the right combination of location and temperature is found.
Imo, If the chicks are cuddled together it may be too cold and if they are sparse or cluttering the water its too hot. Happy chicks tend to make shorter chirps, while distressed chicks may elongate and become louder. Pitches change too.
Someone else can chime in for brooder builds when the outdoors is considered. I personally avoid brooding anywhere but in a very control environment. I will turn out pullets to an enclosed coop at 3-4 weeks. Its hot enough here I can.
This is my first time raising in the summer also! A very different experience for sure! I'm finding it a bit easier than in the early spring! I had a heat lamp on my guys for the first week, a 125 watt lamp but found that they got too hot very quickly, and went down to a 40 watt by the second week and raised that up quite a bit. This is the first day of their third week, since hatch, and I haven't had a light on them for 3-4 days, even at night, as I have them in my living room and the temps are unseasonably hot and they are sleeping through the night already!!! Being able to wean them off the lights, I think, helped them not peep and want it on at all! It's been 85-87 degrees in my cabin! With two windows open all night. Today it's about 77 inside here, so mother nature is stepping them down in temps for me
I AM a bit worried about the mosquitos, when I move them out to the coup though. Am hoping to do so this week, if we can get the coop buttoned up enough to do so. I was thinking maybe put some regular window screening over the hardware cloth and upper vents temporarily ???? Anyone think that would work? We are building the coop pretty tight, as we have some pretty cold winters and lots of snow...
Would LOVE and gratefully appreciate any input, suggestions on what you all do for really bad mosquitos for your chicks!
Also, should I wait another week to put them out if I can't get the mosquitos to stay out of their coop? Maybe next week end? With all this rain, the mosquitos are really bad, and we usually don't have a big problem with them here, as I live on the top of a mountain, with a good breeze, but the rain has the ground a prime breeding ground for the buggers, and even the slanted lawns are over saturated!!!
I assume you have yours outside? What are you doing for mosquitos, if you have them?
