Compensating for overnight temp lows in coop brooder

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.