heat lamp

[barngirlsrule]

I'm not sure how old my chicks have to be to stop using the heat lamp. (I have 4 RIR and 4 Wyandottes - if that helps)

 

[EricShane]

i always thought it was after thier feathers have all grown in well

 

[gritsar]

The temps. should be 90 to 95 the first week, decreasing by 5 degrees a week until such time as you have the temp. down to 70 degrees and they are mostly feathered out.

 

[Tala]

Mine are just over 2.5 weeks old by my best calculations, and they seem perfectly happy in the lower 80's - which in the daytime our house is hitting 84 inside but I refuse to turn on the a/c in April!!! Therefore mine are pretty darn comfy, but I have a regular 60 watt daylight-imitating bulb for them. I'm putting them outside tomorrow, but keeping the 60watt bulb for them at night for a bit longer.

It depends on how many feathers they have
and how warm your house already is

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Quote:
Hah! We just put in an A/C a few weeks ago and two days later we had to use it. It may only be April, but we're well on our way to summer here! Two days ago it was 99 degrees here

! My husband set it as soon as he heard warm weather was rolling in. Thank goodness he did, he's such a good man

Anyway, I just found it humorous sorry to go off topic. Isn't it supposed to be 95 the first week decreasing by 5 until they get their feathers and the temperature equals that of the outside?

 

[kycowgirlchick]

I am having a time trying to keep the temp just right for them. I have some just about 4 weeks that I have kept a lamp on. They can get away from it and get under it if they want. But today it got to 85. They were hot. I turned the light off. But the little ones I have I decreased to a 125 watt heat bulb.
I want some kind of thermostat. I thought about a reptile thermostat that plugs in but they are like 35 each. And I would need about 4.??

 

[emit]

they will move away from the heat lamp when needed. They are pretty smart when it comes to hot and cold

 

[wings]

If your brooder is big enough, then you don't need to worry at all.

However, you might be worried if your brooder is small. I would just watch them for ten minutes or so. You can tell if they avoid the light of the brooder, or if the huddle under it. Just watch them and see what happens!

Good luck!

~wings

 

[kycowgirlchick]

On these warmer days I am having even more trouble. They seem so hot. They have room to move away. So I have put the light on a timer. On through the night. The chicks are 2 weeks old.

 

[the_great_snag]

You guys are lucky. Here we still have a few pockets of snow, and sub-freezing temps at night, but the days are in the 40's with lots of direct sunlight so my birds have to deal with a lot of temp swings.

I have my light fairly low and they have plenty of room to get away from it though, so they are doing fine.

They are 2 1/2 weeks old btw...

As others have said, let them fully feather or until the room temp is the same as the 95 minus 5 X their age in weeks value.