chicks in a coop brooder vs change of temps

[Sammi<3chickens]

Hi all! this is my first post on this site!

I was hoping you could give me some ideas or advice. I'm not sure if this is the right section, to post this, maybe I should post this in the coop section as well?

We made a coop, obviously for the grown chickens in mind. It has windows on the south side to let in heat/sun in the winter. Well we made a section for a brooder. I want to get our 40 chicks outside of the house and into the coop brooder, but I am afraid of the changing temps outside. I have been testing the temps out there and with the heat light, I was able to keep the floor area 80 degrees when the out side was high 30s-low 40s. What I am afraid of, is around noon ish when the sun is out, it will natrualy get up to 80 degrees, and with the heat light on, I would probly end up with fried lil chicken wings. It would not be bad if I was home all day, but I am not always. So around 10 am, the heat in there could be fine, but if I leave, and the sun comes on it, it would be too hot, and I would not be around to adjust the temp. I would have to shut the light off, and open the vents to keep it from getting to hot. These chicks are about 2 weeks old. I put my 5 week olds out there for last night, and it stayed 70-80ish. When they get older, I can just keep the vents more open when its warm, and they can go out side when they want, but if I keep the window open now, they will freeze.
How do you all regulate an outside brooder from the changing heat?
Maybe I should use some reflective insulation on the window and on top of the brooder and try to keep the sun off of it, and try to keep the brooder cooler from the sun, but warm from just the heat light?
Also,
How warm is to warm for chicks? or even older chicks?
For the summer, I am gong to put some reflective insulation on all the southern windows to keep the sun out, and keep screened in windows open on the northern side and open vents on the sides.

Thanks!

 

[Daidohead]

Have you considered putting the heat lamp on a timer ? or better yet a thermostat ?

 

[Sammi<3chickens]

I did think of that, and I think I may. I'm just not sure if it gets TO hot, the windows/vents need to be open to let out some of that hot heat.

 

[moetrout]

I have made thermostatically controlled lights and fans for other animal cages (2 toed sloths and various lizards). Something like that would work, but would require the skills to make it. If you are interested in what the schematic for something like that would look like let me know and I can draw up something for you later. It can be heat (in the form of a light) and/or cool (in the form of a small fan). It would require a thermostat, 24vac transformer, 24v/120v relay(s), and outlet and miscellaneous things like wire, wire nuts, small project box to house it all in.