Do I need to worry about overheating baby chicks?

[stampified]

Hi there! My Orpingtons are 3 1/2 weeks old. I have them with a Brinsea eco glow in their brooder. They are feathering out nicely and I'm not noticing any signs of overheating per se, but here's what I'm wondering. Their brooder is in the garage. It's summer. It's hot in there. I was worried when they were brand new about keeping them warm enough, and now it's occurring to me that they might get too hot. I know you have to keep an eye on grown chickens in summer for heat issues, but do I need to worry about it with the half feathered babies? Should I be taking measures like watermelon and colder water? Or should I not worry about it? I'm assuming I just should keep an eye on them and act if I see signs of heat stress but I'd like to know from the more experienced chicken owners out there, especially for the next few weeks while they'll still be in the garage, getting more feathers, and still getting hot temps. TIA!

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm brooding my chicks outside in the coop and have to keep adjusting and even unplugging their heat lamp as the ambient air temperature changes to make sure that it doesn't get dangerously hot in there.

I'm unplugging their heat completely when it gets up to their designated temperature out and observing their behavior to double-check.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Put a thermometer in there so you can be able to accurately measure the temp.

 

[3KillerBs]

Put a thermometer in there so you can be able to accurately measure the temp.

I've got mine right under the lamp. I figure that it's a little warmer up on the chicks' backs than on the floor.

 

[springvalley123]

Yes they can get too hot. As day olds they have virtually zero tolerance for getting any hotter than the 95-97 degrees recommended. But at 3.5 weeks they could be developing some tolerance, of course you have humidity too in Tennessee. Watch for panting. If you have to leave them unattended for very long, you could put a half-filled 2-liter bottle in the freezer, then once it's frozen, put it in a corner of their brooder, so they can go near it to cool off. Or you could offer a bowl of water with ice cubes. At that age they should be able to seek out those items to cool off if needed.

 

[RRM]

In my opinion, since you have your brooder in the garage and the chicks are feathered nicely as you say, you shouldn’t need any additional heat at this stage.

 

[SueT]

3 1/2 weeks is time to start weaning them from heat. I have mine off any heat source by 4 weeks, and outside in the coop.

 

[stampified]

Thanks y'all!