Heat stroke?

[Chickadee305]

My 2 week old polish chick is showing signs of heat stroke but I keep checking and their temperature is where it is supposed to be. What could cause this??

 

[wamtazlady]

Do your chicks have a cooler area where they can go if they feel they are too warm? I know the suggested temperatures for chicks by week. However, they do not need those temperatures constantly.

I had a hen hatch out chicks when the temperatures were in the 30s. Chicks would warm up under mom. Once warm they would run all over the place, eating, and pecking, and drinking and being chicks. When they would get cold they would run under mom again to warm up. That is normal.

 

[DaWookie]

show a photo of your setup please

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My 2 week old polish chick is showing signs of heat stroke but I keep checking and their temperature is where it is supposed to be. What could cause this??

What is the temperature of the brooder?
Describe the symptoms.
Please post some photos of the chick, it's poop and of your brooder.

IF you think the chick is overheated, then move it away from the heat, but not to a really cold place, just out of the heat. If it's alert, offer her drops of water (room temperature). Electrolytes can be given for a few hours as well.

 

[Chickadee305]

show a photo of your setup please

 

[Chickadee305]

What is the temperature of the brooder?
Describe the symptoms.
Please post some photos of the chick, it's poop and of your brooder.

IF you think the chick is overheated, then move it away from the heat, but not to a really cold place, just out of the heat. If it's alert, offer her drops of water (room temperature). Electrolytes can be given for a few hours as well.

The temp is around 90.
He keeps holding his mouth open and keeping his wings off his body, especially when he’s resting. He’s eating and drinking.

 

[Mamatomany123]

The temp is around 90.
He keeps holding his mouth open and keeping his wings off his body, especially when he’s resting. He’s eating and drinking.

He may be hot. Try moving the heat lamp imo a bit

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The temp is around 90.
He keeps holding his mouth open and keeping his wings off his body, especially when he’s resting. He’s eating and drinking.

I agree, raise your heat lamp, see if that helps.

That tote is probably holding in a lot of heat too. Ideally, they need a larger space.
A brooder should only have one warm spot, the rest should be cool.

 

[aart]

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

 

[wamtazlady]

I'll second what aart just wrote. Those chicks have got to be cooking in that tote with no way to get any relief. Ideally you should try to find something larger to put the chicks in. That way you can have a warm side and a cooler side and let the chicks decide what they need.

When I used a tote like that for my first chicks I just used a regular 60 watt light bulb. Worked fine.