Heat lamp on baby chicks

[jwatts]

Hello all, i'm a little new to the chicken raising here. My question is i just bought 10 chicks (Rir,barred rocks,golden sexlink,Araucana) the box im keeping them in with the red bulbed heat lamp is running about 90 deg. in the corner, At what age of the chicks do they lean off the heat? thank you

 

[DancingHen]

The general rule of thumb with chicks is to keep a heat source on them for at least six weeks. The brooder should start at 95 degrees when the chicks are 1 day old, and then be decreased by 5 degrees each week for about 6 weeks....or until you reach room temp. around 65 degrees. By the time they are 6 weeks old they will have grown the feathers they need to stay warm on their own. Removing heat too soon can be detrimental to their health and their immune systems. Hope that helps.

And welcome to BYC. And welcome to the world of chickens!

 

[Fred's Hens]

First, enjoy our new chicken adventure.

Make sure your box is large enough so your chicks can move into the lamp's circle and away from it, if they get too hot.

Typically, by week 3, they won't want the high wattage you begin with. You are going to have to raise the lamp to lower the temps, and/or also get a lower wattage bulb for weeks 3-6. By week five, you will notice they are feathering up, plus, it will be mid May and the ambient temperatures are getting warmer. You will want to wean them off the light during week 6 by running it less and less so they can go out to the coop without any heat at all.

 

[DancingHen]

Oh, I forgot to add....you can cercease the brooder temp by either raising the light a couple inches each week, or by switching to lower watt bulbs each week. Use a thermometer to read the temp, or just watch the chicks. If the huddle close together under the light they are too cold. If they spread out as far from the light as they can they are too hot. If they lay beneath the light in an evenly spaced group and move aroung the brooder freely to eat and play then they are comfortable.