heat needed in brooder?

[willowtreeaviary]

Hi there! I have a 4'x4' brooder with a solid top and mesh on three sides. On Friday I'm picking up two turkey chicks and 4 chicken chicks, about 3 wks old each. The brooder is on the front porch, which receives direct sun in the morning till about midday. I'm in central Virginia. The temperatures have been up and down. The next four days are forecast to be mid-70's during the day, lower-40's at night. Do you think I need a heat lamp on the little guys, or do you think they'll be okay without one? I think next week the temperatures are supposed to go up again. Let me know what you all think. Thanks in advance, Kerry

 

[swampcat]

I am completely new at this whole chick-raising thing, but I think they will definitely need a lamp at night. Heck, if they have no feathers, I'd have the lamp on during the day, too, just to be safe!

 

[chickencrazyinHT]

The rule of heat lamps in brooders is that a chick needs to be at 95 deg for the first week of life and then you can drop by 5 deg. increments each week until they are ready to go in the coop. If those chicks are already 3 weeks old then mid 70's with direct sun during the day should be fine. If it is getting into the mid 40's at night still, then i would put a heat lamp in there. You can turn it on on the cooler nights and unplug it during the day if its warm enough. People have different opinions though. We saw a lady on here once saying she put her chicks in a coop at four weeks old and never had one to freeze or get sick yet. We live in the South and the temps are mild though. I on the other hand don't my little ones being cold so I would use one. If it's not getting too cold a night a 100watt bulb might even be warm enough. Good luck!

 

[Anianna]

It's chilly, breezy, and damp where I am in VA. These are not ideal conditions for chicks that are not fully feathered. Make sure the chicks are out of draft and I would recommend a heat lamp, especially for the night time temps. At three weeks, their ideal temp is about 85 degrees.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Uh, I just have to interject here. I killed a chick following that 95 degree rule. And it was a chick that i was totally in love with, (if you followed my thread about irresponsible dog owners last month). It was WAY TOO HOT. She and the other chicks she was with (who were new to her) were all panting, but, should I listen to common sense? No, the rule says 95 degrees, right???
So I just thought they might be a bit stressed, and oh, well, I'm way too obsessive here, I thought, so I went away for a bit, came back a few hours later to find her dead. And even bf we introduced the other chicks, I could tell she was too hot. I was just being ignorant, and I have kicked myself ever since.

Anyway, she may've been weak or there might have been something else wrong, but...we significantly lowered the temperature for the rest of the chicks after that, and they've all been just fine, and thriving, at two weeks old now. They are inside though, temps in the room are in the high 60s to low 70s. We leave the heat light on for them a few hours throughout the day, but not at night.

Our chicks with the broodies, are outside in our barn in an enclosed pen similar to what you describe. We leave the heat light on for them all day, especially since it has been VERY cool here, in 40's yesterday during the day...and of course it's cooler at night. Still though we turn the heat light off at night. They cuddle together and are with their mom, who keeps them warm with her own feathers. So, anyway, it's not 95 degrees in there, but it is definitely warmer than the outside temperatures. If your chicks don't have a mom, if I were you I'd look for one of those heat lights where you can turn down the temperature at night, or, a 25 watt heat bulb, so that you can sleep without worrying about danger of fire.

 

[Anianna]

You're right, 95 degrees is not a hard and fast rule, it is a guideline. The temperature should be adjusted for chicks that are panting to a lower temperature or for chicks that are all huddling tightly to a higher temperature. The idea is that the chicks don't yet have the feathers that will naturally protect them from the elements, so without broody mommas, we have to make sure to protect them until their feathers come in. I'm sorry for your loss, chicknmania. I will try to be more clear on the 95 degree rule being a general guideline from now on.

 

[debid]

The chicks will tell you what they need if you pay attention. With a brooder that large, there is no reason to not have a heat lamp at one corner pointing straight down and leaving a large area with NO supplemental heat. This way, they can get out of the heat to cool down. 95 as a constant is too hot for any chick of any age. A 95-degree area with room to roam is what you're after (for day olds!)

My chicks are in the 1-4 week range and I shut the lamp off when it's over 80 out. This is based on the chicks all moving to the cool zone and avoiding the light even when they sleep. I haven't monitored the temperatures since I set the brooder up or done any decreasing, they just gradually spend less time under the lamp. And really, that's what happens with the mama hen. Her body does not become cooler, they spend less time under her.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Thank you. It isn't anyone's fault except mine, if I had just not been so obsessive about her, I would've paid more attention to the signs.\ hat she was too hot. I was just trying to point out there are always exceptions to the rule and you just have to use common sense.

Does anyone know where you can get those heat lights you can adjust the temperature on, or the ones with the lower watt bulbs? We have looked everywhere locally and haven't found them. Haven't looked on line yet. All we can find in the way of heat lights are cheap junk and that is scary.

 

[Anianna]

I don't know about adjustable ones, but you can get smaller lamps from pet stores in the reptile supplies. The smaller lamps often work better in small brooders.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Thank you. It isn't anyone's fault except mine, if I had just not been so obsessive about her, I would've paid more attention to the signs.\ hat she was too hot. I was just trying to point out there are always exceptions to the rule and you just have to use common sense.

Does anyone know where you can get those heat lights you can adjust the temperature on, or the ones with the lower watt bulbs? We have looked everywhere locally and haven't found them. Haven't looked on line yet. All we can find in the way of heat lights are cheap junk and that is scary.

Just get a dimmer switch and put the lamp on that. 95 at the hottest part of the brooder under the light is a general rule. They often will wander to areas of the brooder at 50F or lower, then go back to the 95 area to heat up before wandering out again.