Heat lamp removal at 8 weeks

[Shezadandy]

Yes, that (the chick crumbles) is the proper stuff now! I would stick to 100% chick crumbles until they have reached their adult sizes and started laying, i.e. no treats.


When we read "scratch grains" we picture what is commonly sold as 'scratch' which is a bunch of various whole grains thrown out as a treat only. Like potato chips (or other favorite snack) for us - the chickens will inhale them, corn usually disappears first, but should only be a tiny part of the diet ... if at all. Apologies for the confusion and thank you for posting a picture of the bag!

 

[3KillerBs]

Okay im trying. Yes i might be misinformed. But im trying. I was feeding them scratch grain not cracked corn. I got them on a better diet now today. I am just trying to reach out to anyone who could help me with some answers.

I'm glad that was cleared up.

IMO, you probably should give them the highest-protein crumble you can get to help make up for the initial problem. Maybe even the 22% or 24% meatbird crumble -- at least for a month or two to help them catch back up to where they should have been.

 

[Anschutzchix]

So i had 4 8 week old baby batnam chicks that have had a constant 250 watt heat lamp in their brooder and i have raised it further away from them but kept the same lamp for them i have started to turn it off for small amounts of time during the day and i noticed 2 of my chicks had died not sure why ? But i have 2 more left and i turn the lamp off and they cheep very loudly what am i doind. Wrong?

I left my 9 3-4 week old chicks outside in their coop without a heat lamp for the first time last night. It was 65 degrees. They were completely fine. I went out and checked on them once and some of them were even bedded down alone and not cuddled. These chicks are tougher than we think.

 

[Blooie]

I left my 9 3-4 week old chicks outside in their coop without a heat lamp for the first time last night. It was 65 degrees. They were completely fine. I went out and checked on them once and some of them were even bedded down alone and not cuddled. These chicks are tougher than we think.

Yep!! They just don’t need or want as much heat as people have been trained to think they do! Right now in Wyoming it’s been snowing, temps in the 30s, high wind warnings, and I have chicks outside in the coop with no heat lamp. You read that right! I have 3 that are now 2.5 weeks old, 7 that are just over a week old, and 4 that we just got yesterday at 3 days old. For years now we have used Mama Heating Pad out there, and they absolutely thrive!

Chowing down, and one getting some grit from their dust bath pan.

All of the chicks are snuggled down under Mama Heating Pad, and the last one is heading in to join them. Notice the other little one peeking out….just exactly as they do under a broody hen. They duck under for a quick warmup, if they get spooked, or when the sun starts going down. But they spend most of their time out exploring and learning to be chickens.

Temperature in the coop right now is 30 degrees. Temperature on the floor under Mama Heating Pad is 83. They should all be frozen dead, right? They should be starving to death because the coop is 100% dark at night so they aren’t eating all night long, right?

If a two pound hen can successfully raise her broods of chicks outdoors among the flock regardless of weather, without books, charts, heat lamps, nightlights, experts, and web sites, why do we do it so differently and think we’re doing it better? This system mimics her as closely as possible, and I can tell you firsthand that those 95 degrees the first week, 90 the second, etc. recommendations are (in my opinion) nuts. By 2 weeks the chicks are spending very little time under the pad and the pad is turned down a notch, at the end of that 2 weeks they are spending more time on top of and around MHP. by three weeks they’ve mostly weaned themselves off heat, and by 4 weeks they have taken themselves off all heat completely and no longer use their brooder pen. They know far better what they need than we do, and they do much better if they get to self-regulate!

 

[Ritzydoll]

Okay im trying. Yes i might be misinformed. But im trying. I was feeding them scratch grain not cracked corn. I got them on a better diet now today. I am just trying to reach out to anyone who could help me with some answers.

Hang in there. There is a lot to learn and sometimes you can do everything right and still lose babies. Good quality chick or grower feed is a must. You can look on the back of the package and it should tell you what feed is appropriate for age of chicks. Chick grit. Fresh water. Keep brooder clean. Chickens are so fun so don’t feel discouraged.

 

[Blooie]

@Sidneyeve98, Don’t be upset!! Absolutely none of us had smooth sailing when we started out, and I’d question anyone who claims perfection from Day 1…. Shoot, sometimes I’m convinced that my first chicks survived despite me, not because of me. Truth be told, I lost 6 in my first batch. I found myself so stressed that I didn’t even like them anymore and I evicted them at 5.5 weeks out to the cold cruel world - and I mean Wyoming cold. We got down 18 degrees the first night! it was a bitter pill to swallow when I realized they actually did better without me than they were doing with me, I can tell you!

All you have to do now is take a deep breath, realize that, sadly, not all chicks out of every batch will survive, and pick through the tons of advice out there in order to put together a formula that will work for you. You are there, I am not. You know your climate, your time, space and budget limitations, your setup, and your own personal comfort zone far better than I do. What works for me doesn’t have to work for you.

Get them on the correct diet, as others have suggested. Be sure they have plenty of clean, fresh water. For that you might even want to look into nipple watering systems - water stays far cleaner and you don‘t have anything to really worry about besides the drips. You can prevent wet bedding by putting a shallow pan under the waterer to catch those pesky drips and keep the bedding dry under it. We all want you to enjoy raising your chicks.