Heat lamp

[Yard full o' rocks]

My first batch of "babies" are due a week from today....CANT WAIT:yiipchick. I have a brooder box built (thanks to someone here who posted a wonderful idea) and I plan to keep them in my basement. How long will I need to keep the heat lamp in there with them? I am also building a seperate coop/run for "grow up" chickens until they can be miggled with the adults. How long before they can be put out in the coop/run? I am in Ga and the weather here is pretty stable now. 50s at night, upper 60s, low 70s during the day. Thanks

 

[Blondie]

I'm in GA, too. Why put them in the basement? If your brooder is secure enough, do you have a pole barn or some other type of shelter that has a roof you can put them outside?

The heat lamp goes like this: keep it 95 degrees the first week, them drop down 5 degrees every week. By 6 weeks, you can take out the heat lamp. With the warm weather almost here, you might even take the heat lamp out at 5 weeks.

Good luck! Chickens are SO MUCH FUN!!

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

I guess maybe I am trying to be too "overprotective"....guess I thought the nights might be too cool (even with the lamp) for them to be outside. I do have a screened porch 1 story above the walk out basement. I could definitely out the brooder out there. There is power, its covered. THANKS

 

[Blondie]

I got my day old chicks on March 1st. I did keep them in the house for 3 days because the temps were in the teens for those nights. They have been outside every since and doing well.

By the 3rd day, the room was dusty and stinky. I read threads where people keep their chicks in the house for weeks!!

Yikes! It must really be dusty and stinky by then!!