Heat Lamps

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

When can i take the heat lamp away from my cornish ?

 

[Wynette]

How old are they? You can wean them off...I use a lamp dimmer - it plugs into the wall, then the heat lamp plugs into that and there is a slider on it so I can dim the heat lamp. Got the idea here on BYC, and it works wonderfully!

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

i was just wondering when they can be ttaken away from the heat lamp? what age? i heard 2 weeks, but im not positive

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Love the lamp dimmer idea! I'm going to try it, my wimpy california chickens are addicted to the heat lamp!

 

[Olive Hill]

Ms~Silkie~Girl :

i was just wondering when they can be ttaken away from the heat lamp? what age? i heard 2 weeks, but im not positive

Like Wynette said, it's best to wean them off the heat lamp, not just take it away. You can do this either by slowly raising it up so it is further and further away from them or by using a dimmer switch and slowly turning the light dimmer and dimmer until it is off.

No one can tell you the exact age at which your chicks will do well without heat, there are too many variables -- their immediate environment, your geographic location, the time of year, the weather patterns, etc, etc. In general the Cornish X tend to do quite well with cooler temperatures than do other chicks. Common sense should always prevail however, if they are crowded and piling up they're cold. If they're spread out and panting or holding their wings out, they're hot. Adjust the temperature of their brooder to suit their needs. That's all you can (and should) do.​

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

yeah but i can't really do that, because they are in with other chicks that would be way too cold

 

[Olive Hill]

Ms~Silkie~Girl :

yeah but i can't really do that, because they are in with other chicks that would be way too cold

Buy a second heat lamp.​

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

well, we, can't, and how would that work anyways?

 

[Tala]

Ms~Silkie~Girl :

yeah but i can't really do that, because they are in with other chicks that would be way too cold

Then make sure there is ample space for the bigger chicks to stay further from the heat if they want to. In my experience, they will kinda all stay together anyway, but give them a choice so that they can get away if they feel overheated.

In my experience, younger chicks mixed with older ones will all be happy at the same temperature. I put the lamp in, hanging low enough to make sure that the youngest chicks can get warm-enough, and they choose how close to it that they want to sit. They can always move further away (if you supply enough room) but they can never get warmer than the warmest spot under the lamp so I make sure that is warm-enough for the little guys.​

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

thanks