Button Quail Brooder Heating - too hot??

[Rii]

Hi Everybody!
I’m new to incubating/raising chicks so apologies in advance for the novel haha
I currently have my eggs in lockdown and am setting up my brooder in the meantime.
The questions I have are around the brooder temps. Where I live is super hot at the moment, sometimes a bit hotter than the recommended brooder temp throughout the day.
Does this mean I just forget the heating altogether? At least throughout the day?

Day time temps at the moment are between 35C (95F) to 40C (104F).
Nighttime temps drop to about 25C (77F). The brooder will be inside but we don’t have aircon so the inside temp is not much different.
Not that it makes any difference but button quail are native to where I live so I’m thinking in theory they shouldn’t need as much artificial help. Humidity is between 55-70% (most days 65ish).

I’m concerned it’s going to be really easy to overheat the chicks with this weather, but I also don’t want to forget heating and stunt their development. I’m also a little worried they’ll be hot even with no heating at all and am not sure how I’d cool them..

Has anyone else tackled this issue?? I appreciate all & any advice

 

[Nabiki]

Your chicks will tell you if they're too hot or too cold. You should have a warm end and a cool end in your brooder with the warm end being in the 99-100 degree range to start with and the cooler end being what we would call room temperature, which would be the 70s-80s.

In your situation, It would be good to have a heat lamp available in case you need it, and I would put a thermometer into the "warm" end of the brooder so you know what the temperature is.

If the chicks are too hot, they will spread out and often lay stretched out. If they are panting or begin to be lethargic, you may actually need to provide some cooling, but if the maximum temp is 104, they will probably be okay. Keep an eye on them.

If they clump together and pile on top of each other, they're cold, and you will need the heat lamp.

 

[Rii]

Your chicks will tell you if they're too hot or too cold. You should have a warm end and a cool end in your brooder with the warm end being in the 99-100 degree range to start with and the cooler end being what we would call room temperature, which would be the 70s-80s.

In your situation, It would be good to have a heat lamp available in case you need it, and I would put a thermometer into the "warm" end of the brooder so you know what the temperature is.

If the chicks are too hot, they will spread out and often lay stretched out. If they are panting or begin to be lethargic, you may actually need to provide some cooling, but if the maximum temp is 104, they will probably be okay. Keep an eye on them.

If they clump together and pile on top of each other, they're cold, and you will need the heat lamp.

Thankyou! I’ll see how they go and alter from there.
I’m usually at work throughout the day but my gut tells me they won’t need heating during the day.
I keep reptiles so I have heaps of heat lamps to use if needed!

Is a fan okay to use for cooling if they start panting? Or would something like an ice block wrapped in a tea towel be more suitable??

 

[Nabiki]

I would use the wrapped ice pack with the fan on low blowing over the cool end. If you put the ice pack in front of the fan, it will cool the air being blown. You still want a warm end and a cool end to the brooder so the chicks can choose the comfortable temperature for themselves.

 

[Rii]

Sounds perfect, Thankyou for the advice!