Chicks in August heat

[NagemTX]

I am planning on brooding chicks out side in the coop and not our garage.

I'm worried about ventilation and to high a temperature in the garage because of the TX heat and humidity in August where I am.

From all the information i have found on here and the check list Cackle had me check off I'm unsure if I should use a heat lamp or the heating pad method. (One of the check boxes for Cackle was to use the heat lamp only.) So I'm a little confused on this.

Any insights and advice will be carefully weighed and considered. Thank you all.

 

[Percheron chick]

How hot is the garage and coop during the day and night? You might be able to get away with nothing in the garage for a week or two then moving them outside.

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

Hi, fellow Texan here. This past week, I've had my challenges with posted temps around 95 - 105 with the heat index and 80-100% humidity. My chicks are older - 5 and 3 weeks. I'm brooding in my garage, and although my chicks aren't day-olds or even a week, I'm acutely aware of the temperature differences in the garage vs. outside. Their big girl coop won't be finished until next week.

My biggest concern is that the chicks have no way to escape the heat if the ambient temp reaches above 90. It's like being under a heat plate you can't escape. If your garage is insulated, great! Mine, however, is not. I cracked the door as you do, but the heat was not moving due to the humidity. My chicks were panting, eating less, and generally not their chirpy selves. After one day of that, I was not having it.

I have a window in my garage that I mounted a small window AC unit in (moved it from my travel trailer) and added some box fans around the garage to force the heat out and allow the cool air to displace the hot. That lowered the temps to the low-mid 80s, and they've been comfortable.

I can't do that at night because I have way too many predators on my property that would help themselves to a chicken buffet right out of my garage (raccoons, opossums, armadillos, coyotes, neighborhood dogs, etc.) So, I leave the AC unit running without the box fans, and the chicks still have their brooder plates to go under when the temps hit 70 at night, and they get chilly.

I hope this helps!

 

[NagemTX]

We have no windows in the garage and I would have to keep it closed as the normal door connects to my kitties yard(yes they are fenced in, I have six of them.) Also withe the current heat the kitties won't even hang out in the garage right now.

Good ideas tho.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah August heat is bad. Broody hens raise chicks in August heat but broodies usually have the advantage they can move around looking for a cooler spot. Our brooders can't move like that.

I am planning on brooding chicks out side in the coop and not our garage.

I do the same, brood in the coop. What does your coop look like? How hot does it get? What would your brooder look like? What conditions would you have in there?

From all the information i have found on here and the check list Cackle had me check off I'm unsure if I should use a heat lamp or the heating pad method.

Don't worry about what method someone tells you to use. Think about the result you want. A good brooder has a spot warm enough in the coolest conditions and cool enough in the warmest conditions. It doesn't matter if that warm spot is created by a heat lamp, heating pad, heat plate, or some other means. People tend to forget about a spot cool enough in the warmest conditions. That is more likely to be your problem.

One summer I had chicks in my brooder in the coop during a ridiculous heat wave. It was above 110 Fahrenheit every day for two weeks, nights barely got down into the 90's. I used a heat lamp and turned the daytime heat off at 2 days of age. I waited 5 days to turn the nighttime heat off and that was almost too late, they were suffering.

Heat is dangerous. They can normally survive if they have plenty of water and plenty of ventilation. Shade is necessary but you should have that inside the coop, just watch how the sun shines through the windows. A fan to circulate the air might be a good idea.

Good luck!

 

[NagemTX]

I'm going with a hoop coop, it will be placed between two big ash trees and have shade most of the day. (not built yet, should be by the 2nd week in June.)

Location in pic. Once the coop is built I'll be better able to get temps where its at.

 

[Kiki]

I am just up the road from you.

Chicks don't need any added heat in our area right now. And they definitely won't need any added heat at all come August.

Make sure your coop is open air. My coop is completely open/hardware cloth only on 3 full sides. My birds are 6 years old.

 

[Kiki]

Also... Have you already placed the order for your chicks with that hatchery?

Are you aware that Ideal Poultry is literally just hours away from us and if you order from them your chicks will spend less than 24 hours in the mail?

 

[Iluveggers]

I think Cackle says that because sometimes chicks ship in freezing temps and the heat lamp provides the necessary heat to warm them quickly for the first few days. I’ve only used a plate but I also raise chicks in the summer. I think in your climate they’d be fine outside. Mine were sleeping outside the heat plate in August last year in NY because it was so warm.

 

[NagemTX]

Yes coop will be open air, its how I did broilers back in the 90's for 4-H and we didn't have problems. I brooded those in the garage tho because we got them earlier than I will be getting these. Setting up a cattle panel Hoop Coop and trying to get it done before end of June so I can predator test it.

I do know Ideal is not far but they don't have all the breeds I'm looking for. I've been spending months looking for what I wanted and I thought I would be best to get all of them this first time from the same hatchery. Some of the breeds I would have sub in they carry but where out of them in a flash. Cackle was the only one that had almost all of them but one. So those I could not get are on the back burner till such time as I might need to order more, or I find a breeder close by, or I decide to take the plunge and incubate bought eggs.

I really really wanted to go with Ideal, they just didn't have anything available that I wanted.