Hi Matt!
Thanks and lol this is my first time raising chicks but I was constantly moving the light . At the second week I noticed the chicks were way too hot by feeling them and also they would not move and were avoiding the heat lamp spot like the flu . So at only 2 weeks they were used to 80 maybe 75 as I do not monitor temps I just move the lamp and observe as to what they are doing beacause everybody says about the formula, but infact chicks are a lot tougher than u think and mine have showed me that because they didn't always need the heat as to what the formula said . I am using a heat lamp and although I could move it further away I am trying to get the flock used to the cool temps at night outside . Even on really cold days , I take my oldest and most mature bird out. I can tell if she is cold or not because she will literally run to me and if I am sitting down fly on top of my legs . I am doing this for like 5 minutes almost everyday to acclimate her to the temps .Hi Matt!
I was interested in your question because I, too, have 12 4-week-old chicks living in a brooder in our garage right now. We have a new batch of chicks arriving Tuesday, and we are going to split the brooder and isolate the newbies from the older chicks for a few weeks for safety. We use the Brinsea Ecoglow for the chicks' heat source, and I was wondering if I can take it out of the side with the older chicks and put it in the side with the babies without having to put a heat lamp or supplemental heat source in with the older chicks.
I found this article from The Chicken Chick blog extremely helpful in giving some insight into our question as to when to remove supplemental heat from the brooder. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/04/when-to-move-chicks-from-brooder-to.html She stresses that observing the chicks' behavior is a key indicator as to whether they are ready for less heat (or they need more), and she also gives a little chart with "The Formula" of what general temperature the brooder should be kept at, based on the weekly ages of the chicks. She has 75 degrees listed for 4-week-old chicks. That's a few degrees warmer than your house, but if you take the heat out and they seem warm enough, maybe they don't need as much heat?
One thing I did notice with our first flock of chicks using the Brinsea Ecoglow, is that the dark-feathered chicks seemed to wean from the supplemental heat sooner than the lighter-feathered chicks.
Also, are you using a heat lamp? Maybe it just needs to be positioned further away from the brooder so the heat isn't as intense for them?
I hope this helps. LOL. I think I may have asked more questions than I answered, but I'm fairly new at this gig!
