Does my chick NEED a lamp if she's not outside?

[Jacquieh]

Hello peeps,
I was given a 3-4 week old chick, and I have her inside. I want her to be more of a pet than a yard chicken. I have a box with some wood shavings (like for a hamster cage) that she is in when I'm not "playing" with her. My question is, does she have to have a heat lamp? The local feed store told me that her body temp needs to be at 95 degrees. If she's not "shivering" does she still need a heat lamp? I want to make sure she is warm and healthy. She seems happy. She follows me every where, curls up close to me while I'm sitting....sits on my shoulder...Anyways, thanks in advance for the help.
Jacquie

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under jacqueih

Welcome!

Sorry, I can not answer your question, I only have experience with hatches under a nice warm broody hen and living in Aus, cold is not something we do often

Will you continue to keep her in the house? If yes, you might be interested in joining the People with House Chickens thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/299187/people-with-house-chickens

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also pop in and say hello on your local thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your girl, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[redsoxs]

Hello from Kansas and ! Pleased you joined our flock! In addition tho the links Teila provided, here's another you may find helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-a-chicken-as-a-family-pet
Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[junebuggena]

Definitely feathered in enough to not need any extra heat.

 

[drumstick diva]

I think she is more like 6 weeks old. There is a great thread called "People with house chickens." You may want to check it out. my Friend has had a variety of chicken house pets over the past 25 years, mostly silkies. Now she has 2 mature serama hens and a younger silkie hen. The seramas do not like the silkie and she is afraid of them

 

[junebuggena]

Depends on how feathered in you chick is.

 

[Jacquieh]

I can send a picture to show you. Would that help?

 

[Jacquieh]

I don't think she has any down (is that what it's called,lol) on her. Must of her feathers look like adult feathers. Her head still looks 'fluffy'...but her body looks smooth with adult feathers. And when I touch her, she Always feels SO warm....like a miniature space heater. How this info helps.

 

[Jacquieh]

Omg, you are All awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I feel so welcome here and free to ask Anything without repercussions! Some groups if you are new to a hobby, can be down right rude! So, again, Thank you for ALL the help. I feel great knowing I have support of such fine and friendly people to help me. I will definitely check out those threads! With the picture that I provided, can you tell me what breed of chicken she is? I know Nothing about chicken breeds. Thank you ALL again!
Jacquie

 

[Jacquieh]

Ooh,to Teila, yes I would like to keep her in the house. Kinda like a dog. I'll take her outside during the day, and she can come in whenever she wants. She is already Very attached to me, if I leave the room, she makes a fuss until I come back and put her on my shoulder. She then finds a spot behind my head and lays down. Lol....I've heard that chickens are very intelligent, and boy they are right! Lol...anyways, thank you for the help and I look forward to meeting more wonderful people on this site!
Jacquie