Hi all, My chicks (13) are 18 days old today, feathering out really well. Does anyone have experience with outdoor brooder and keeping temps consistent? Last night, outdoor temp went down to 34, coop was at 50, and at 600am this morning, under the light (250Wred) was 77. Last night at 1030pm it was 92 under the light and it was 68 in the coop . Will my chicks be ok? They had a depression dug out of the shavings under the light--must have snuggled in there. They seem to like temps of 80 in general... Am I right to overcompensate the heat when I go to bed? The general rule is 85 for them at this age right? This heat thing is making me crazy!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO...I have a bantum buff brahma that had a mild case of pasty butt, and now is constipated. She's very shy. Yesterday, I put out a plate of 1/2 c chick starter and 1 TBS of olive oil mixed in--they all loved it--she ate some too will thes help? What will it do to the others?? Is that about the right amount. It's very difficult to get a hold of her so I need to treat them all for her to get help. Any advice??? Can I do it more than once a day??? Thanks again!! Lisa Lisa
The temp~ is a general idea of what chicks like, not all chicks are the same and as long as your chicks are comfortable and doing well I wouldn't overstress about it. My chicks never liked 90-95 degrees from the time I brought them home. They are now at 70 degrees at 3-4 weeks old and do not sleep bunched up at night so it's whatever your chicks tell you they like.
I'm trying to figure this out, too. Mine are a month old and it's going to get cold here in a couple days. I just bumped up to a 250 watt heat emitter. I'll probably lower it a bit on the cold nights. It is pretty tough to gauge.
This is my first batch of chicks, but what I've done is I moved them outside at about 2 weeks old. I made sure that under the light was hot (100+ degrees) and the chicks would then sleep where they needed to to keep warm, generally in a ring around the center spot of light (it looked like they were sitting around a campfire). I figure that when the ambient temp is in the 40's they need to be able to get warm fast if they get cold. My now almost 6 week olds are doing great, and I'm thinking they don't really need the light anymore. I just put a 2nd set of 3 week olds out, and they are doing great too.
I've had my chicks outside the entire time in the shed/brooder. I just moved the lamp closer on the cold nights, and farther during the day. They will adjust themselves to where they're comfortable. I just check on them before I go to bed, and when I get up. About the pasty butt, I've seen several people on here say to give plain yogurt. It's supposed to help get there digestive system squared away. I haven't tried it though, but it seems to be popular, and apparently it's a riot to watch. I need to try that for some entertainment. Remember, just PLAIN regular yogurt.