Do MY baby chicks need a heat lamp?

[Pork Pie]

By a week old, my chicks have no heat source and it’s 72-5F on a night time. They are weaned off the heat from day 3. No need for additional heat, most certainly.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would go with a regular bulb or a reptile bulb set as far as possible, and only if the temperature dips. Good chance you won't need it at all. Don't get too stuck on the "95 the first week, 90 the next" - in most cases for a small home flock that's warmer than it needs to be.

Very true. It is just a rule of thumb for first timers that people do tend to get hung up on.
I've never used a thermometer because I don't keep them in small spaces. It is easier to provide a hot spot and keep the rest of the area cool so they can find their comfort zone.

 

[SGH]

We have too many cats in the neighborhood and it's too hot to leave my dog outside right now. I'd prefer to keep them indoors. I have a 250 w heat bulb and I'm wondering if I really need to even use it? I looked online and it said 100w incandescent but I can't find incandescent bulbs anywhere except order online but I don't have time. Would just a reptile bulb be better?

250 watt is way too hot. I tried it, heated up the entire room. Tried a 100 watt, still hot. Now I’m using a reptile 75 watt bulb and found that best for me. They can be found at Petco or petsmart. Amazon too I’m sure.

 

[snow5164]

I still don’t understand how your dog not being out or the amount of cats effects the chicks being in the coop? Unless you don’t have a coop? Or a run ?

Enjoy the mess, I’ve done it once and never again , not good for your lungs or your kids. Good luck

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Same here. I don't understand how feral cats running amok can affect new chicks inside a chicken coop.

 

[floridasummer]

Ok thank you everyone. I bought a reptile bulb 75w hopefully I'll just use that for a little while then they won't need it.

I don't have a mother hen for the chicks as one poster stated it would be better to raise them that way...i can't...

Also no, I do not have a fenced coop. Why would i keep cats in a chicken coop???
There are stray cats outside everywhere. I hate them but haven't found any way to control them. Animal control basically doesn't care.
I plan on moving my dog outside when the chicks are old enough to be outside to watch over them. Then I'll get either guniea or hopefully get a full time livestock dog when it's too hot for him.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's a much better plan than the big heat lamp.
You could trap the cats. I realize it could be a daunting process depending on how many are afoot.

 

[lazy gardener]

First, and foremost, welcome to BYC.

I would not use any sort of bulb at all. Your house is all ready much warmer than you would like. Why add more heat? You can use a heating pad style heat system that will add minimal heat to their brooder as well as to your home. I think you are wise to keep them inside for this reason: It will be hotter outside. Chicks are not able to withstand temps that are too warm. Too much heat will kill a chick faster than not enough.

Do some research re: Mother Heating Pad. @Blooie is the queen of this topic. She has a thread that is about 7 miles long, and she has an article about it attached to her signature.

Also, check out: huddle box and wool hen. You may find that either of these are fully sufficient in your heat without adding any electrical output at all.

Beware of keeping your chicks in a plastic bin. They hold the heat very well and can easily become overheated, even with a simple little heat source like a heating pad that only draws 50W. For this reason, I call a plastic tote brooder "the easy bake oven." I have come very close to killing chicks with a tote myself.

Also, by the time your chicks are 2 - 3 weeks old, they need a minimum of 2 s.f./chick. An appliance box makes a fantastic disposable brooder which is plenty large enough to last quite a while, and it's easy to customize with perches and such.

Finally, any coop should be cat proof. Therefore, feral cats should absolutely not be an issue to putting your chicks out. They will need a cat proof coop and run. If you can't supply this, you stand very little chance of raising these chicks to adulthood.

 

[trufadog]

Our wool hen was really easy to make once I got the right sized box. We have it in the main coop in a dog crate. There are 8 three week old chicks that have slept in there for three weeks now.

Also, we learned the hard way TWICE that our dog was not good with the chickens. We started with six and he killed one, so we put up a fence and then they broke the fence and got three. Now we only let the chickens out to free range when we are home and the dogs are not underexercised or hungry.