chicks don't want heatlamp

[GD91]

I don't get it!
They are 6 days old, but if I put their heat lamp on they cry & try to escape the whole brooder even though they can get away from the heat . They have already got feathered wings & tails & are rapidly growing. The heatlamp is as high as I could get it. They don't sleep huddled up , so I guess they are not cold.
My previous chicks were pekin bantams which were always cold & took ages to feather. These are standard barnyard mixes, Easter eggers etc.
They can fly to, at 6 days great feathers.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I kept my chicks in a 3 foot by 3 foot brooder and the heat lamp just at the corner out in a garage which was probably 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit itself. The chicks liked the lamp somedays and I'm sure when it was cooler. But yes, as their wing feathers and tails progressed I could tell they needed it less and less. Try taking it away and if you hear that distress peep then give it back but just at a corner of the brooder...so they can get away if they are too hot. Too much heat can give the chicks pasty butt and that's a problem you don't really want either. Those Easter Eggers actually feathered really fast for me I remember. Oh...those were the days....baby chicks...Awe. Have fun and enjoy.

 

[GD91]

Got them running everywhere right now, escaped the brooder & sitting on everything including the dog lol, never mind Its for limited time only anyway.
So are Easter eggers normally this fast at feathering?

 

[donrae]

How big is your brooder and how high is the lamp? My lamp is usually around 2-2.5 feet off the ground, that's with the big red bulb. It's at one end of a large galvanized steel trough brooder.

 

[GD91]

Brooder is 2 x 2 feet w+L & 2 ft high. Heat lamp wad in one corner and they could get away . That's what I mean

 

[donrae]

Okay, but at only 2 feet, there's not much room to get away from the heat, even the other end of the brooder's still going to be pretty darn warm. I think you need a bigger brooder, or to raise the lamp up more. They're telling you they're too hot.

 

[4 the Birds]

Okay, but at only 2 feet, there's not much room to get away from the heat, even the other end of the brooder's still going to be pretty darn warm. I think you need a bigger brooder, or to raise the lamp up more. They're telling you they're too hot.

+1

At least double the size of your brooder. With cardboard boxes and some duct tape, you can built a nice big space so that the chicks can huddle under the lamp or move away. They will grow fast and quickly need room.

 

[GD91]

I've got no cardboard such things are recycled quickly in my area. I have got a bigger dog cage that I can attach onto the smaller on to make a Big cage , but they pop out between the bars! Too small

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I've got no cardboard

such things are recycled quickly in my area. I have got a bigger dog cage that I can attach onto the smaller on to make a Big cage , but they pop out between the bars! Too small

I agree with the others. And you do want to fix this, because chicks will be harmed by too much heat just as fast or faster than if they are too cold.

Go to your local home store and buy some chicken wire. Put it around the outside of your dog crate.
Or, find some cardboard boxes, cut them up, and fasten to the outside of the dog crate.
Or buy a big plastic tote at the store, and move all the chicks into the tote. Buy the really big, really long ones.
Whatever you do, your chicks have proven that they can fly, so use that chicken wire to make a lid for them.

In general, a brooder should be big enough that the day-old chicks look lost inside it--they will grow quickly, and quickly use up all that extra space. Besides the heat factor, if you don't have a large enough space for your growing chicks, they will most likely start to peck each other enough to draw blood. Overcrowding is the #1 factor in chicken cannibalism.

 

[france4862]

Has anyone ordered chicks from stromberg hatchery if so what was your experience