Heat

[bradgsanford]

We have:

one 2.5 week old unknown breed chick my son brought home from school
three 1.5 week old red sex links
three 1.5 week old black sex links
one 1.5 week old partridge cochin bantam
one 1.5 week old buff orpington
one 1.5 week old black cochin bantam (we think)
and as of today:
three new golden campine chicks
one unknown same age chick from Atwood's (Ideal Poultry)

All that to get to my question. We have them in a metal 2X2X4 tub from TSC (the same tub you see them in at the stores, at least in Atwoods and TSC in my neck of the woods), and have had them indoors due to some cold nights here in OK. It's warming up a bit, 93 degrees today, and we decided to move them back out to the well insulated garage on top of the broken pool table.

We plugged the heat lamp back in even though it is 95 degrees or so in the garage because of the new ones we brought home today. I went out to check just now and only three were under the lamp, the rest were on the other side (my reading of these forums and other sites tells me it's too hot) and the buff orpington appeared to be panting.

Question:

Should I leave the bulb off during the day when it's that hot and only plug it in at night, do I need to put in a 75 or 100 watt bulb instead, or do the new chicks need a bit more than the normal heat or a lesser bulb will provide (I should say of the three that remained under the bulb when I checked, only one of them was a new chick). Also, heat index is supposed to be i the 100s for the next few days and in the mid 60s overnight.

Thanks for any advice!

-Brad

 

[bburn]

Check what your night time temp is going to be.

Mine are three weeks and I turned off the light completely this afternoon. They were fine. My brooder is at least double the size of yours and I feell good when they move away from the light. They are going to where they are the most comfortable. That said....do you have a thermometer in there so you can see what the temp is? Use that as a guide also.

95 first week and take off five degrees a week. AND.....I found the heat bulb to be too hot.

I use a 100 watt bulb in the garage and check the thermometer once in a while to see what the temps are holding at. The babies will need more heat. Is there any way you can section them an area off that is closest to the light (110 W) and the other on the other side. They will get really close and pile up against what you divide the tub with if they are too cold.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

No heat lamp when it is 93 degrees already...

At night I would leave them whatever wattage gives you 90 degrees under the light (you do have some day olds, right?).

The rule of thumb is 90-95 degrees the first week and decrease by 5 degrees per week until fully feathered, usually 6 weeks of age.

The three week old one will be needing only 80-85 degrees.

If any one of your chicks is panting, they might die. Rectify the situation somehow, even if you have to put another brooder up.

I would guess for mid-60's that a 100 watt bulb would be enough at night but I would definitely check the temp under the bulb to see what they can access. They need to have that perfect temp. available.

 

[bradgsanford]

I don't have a thermometer in the brooder. I just used my grandmother's advice and watch where they're gathering. All under the bulb, maybe cold. All away from the bulb, maybe hot. Scattered throughout, probably just right.

Maybe I should put the 4 new ones in a separate tub until they get more feathers?

 

[GiddyMoon]

We are in Tucson, our nights are getting in the 50s, they are in the laundry room which may get to the high 60s -maybe, but this week has been abnormally warm during the day, low 90s...there was no way a 250 watt bulb was going to be safe so Ii have been using an amber 60 watt bug light and it has been perfect. I would turn the light off during the day and try a lower watt bulb at night. The 60 watt bulb is just about a foot over the chicks

 

[bradgsanford]

Thanks for the advice. I went out and plugged in a 75 watt bulb, opened a window for ventilation, and no one is panting or huddled under the bulb for warmth. I'll keep a close eye on them through the night.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

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