Chicks and Heat

[OkieCluck]

Hi all, first time to post here, but have been lurking and reading for several months now.

So, my question. I have 10 wyandottes and 3 NJ giant chicks (all 2 weeks old on 7/21/11) that have been in an indoor brooder now since arriving from Cackle Hatchery. They are doing great and growing like crazy! They can now jump/fly to the top rail of the brooder if they want and the shavings are getting dirty quick.

Last weekend I built a brooder for outside use, it stands 2 feet above ground, has 3 foot x 5 foot of wood floor space and is completely covered in 1/4" hardware cloth. I've got it in our garage which is shaded but with the summer heat it's still reaching 100-102 degrees, 30-40% humidity by around 4pm inside the brooder, gotta love this SE Oklahoma weather! I've set up a small fan to blow into the brooder and have frozen 3 two liter pop bottles and a 1 gallon milk jug in preparation for moving them to the big brooder. From reading on here, I plan on putting a fozen pop bottle in the brooder and have the fan blow across another frozen bottle.

My question is how would you go about transitioning them to the outside brooder and higher heat? I've thought about moving them out there around 8pm when it's cooled down to the 90's so they can gradually warm up from low 80's the next morning. Or do you think it's even safe to move them out in this weather? We're not expecting any kind of cool down for several weeks. My plan is to do this on Saturday when I can watch them closely during the day to make sure there is no heat stress.

Thanks for any help or ideas you can provide!!

 

[TwoCrows]

First of all...

I think you are thinking correctly in that the chicks need to acclimate to that type of high heat. Babies that small can not yet regulate thier heat quite yet. They will get better at it as the weeks pass. So you can either take them out first thing in the morning or late evening for a hour or so at first. Increase the time they are outside, just as you would if it were cold outside.

Or you can keep them inside til the are a bit older, even at 6 weeks old they can tolerate higher temps. However....any poultry can die in heat in excess of 100 or more. So be very careful in leaving them outside for any length of time. If they are showing any signs of distress, then you can mist them down with water. Panting is normal to cool themselves off, however laying down prostrate is in the dangerous zone. So watch them carefully and good luck with your babies!

 

[OkieCluck]

Thank you very much twocrows! I'll try taking them out for an hour or two in the late afternoon for a few days and might let them overnight there also. Then watch them as it heats up on Sunday to see how they are handling the temp. Might just need to build a top for the inside brooder!! Thanks again.