High humidity and temp..turned the heatlamp off??

[Floppy Pheasant]

Hello,I'm in Pennsylvania, the humidity is really high,my 10 Brahma chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old,Ihave them in a brooder in my house with 250 watt red heatlamp (only on one side)...the room temp is 80..I have no fans or A/C on my enclosed porch,I turned the 250w heatlamp off (I think they'll get overheated)....also,trying to acclimate them to sleeping at night,they're spread out around the brooder...I'm more familiar with pheasant chicks,so,any help?

 

[ChickNanny13]

If they're "spread out around the brooder" they're warm enough. If they're huddled & piled up on each other, they're cold/chilled. Is the brooder in your house or in the enclosed porch? At 2wks 80* is good but what about night temps? Not understanding "trying to acclimate them to sleeping at night".

I used to use a light bulb (40 - 60watt) for heat but then read Blooie's thread on MHP (heating pad), you may want to consider that method for brooding. Chicks do learn day & night, alot quieter, calm & not so skittish, less issues with pasty butt and "is it too hot/cold" for the chicks.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree about the heat plate rather than a heat lamp, most especially in warm/ hot weather. Overheating the babies is bad, and when they can go under the brooder plate it's much better.
Mary

 

[Floppy Pheasant]

My "porch "is in my house,it's not open,no drafts,it's an enclosed porch... the chicks are spread out ,never huddled together.
My pheasant chicks seem to acclimate faster (probably because they're game birds).....I have a Brinsea heat plate but they just never wanted to go under it??

 

[Cayuga momma]

You could use the heat plate and turn it on at night. If they are cold enough they will use it. Or you could make them a woolly hen. If temps are high enough a woolly hen would probably work as long as the temps are warm enough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hello,I'm in Pennsylvania, the humidity is really high,my 10 Brahma chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old,Ihave them in a brooder in my house with 250 watt red heatlamp (only on one side)...the room temp is 80..I have no fans or A/C on my enclosed porch,I turned the 250w heatlamp off (I think they'll get overheated)....also,trying to acclimate them to sleeping at night,they're spread out around the brooder...I'm more familiar with pheasant chicks,so,any help?

I don't see that you need any help, sounds like you are doing fine. At that age and temps they do not need any heat. I don't know what your overnight lows are outside, they may not be that far from ready to go to the coop with no supplemental heat.

The first time they see total dark they may get excited but bear with it. Usually in less than 15 minutes (often much less) they calm down and go to sleep.

I don't know how big that brooder is, I like it big enough and with decent vventilation so the far side is at regular air temperature. That way they can select wherever they want to be as it gradually cools off as you get further from the heat lamp.

If you brood in this area again I suggest you look at a 75 or 125 watt bulb. Save you some electricity costs and less worry about overheating. That is all you need inside like that. When I brood in my brooder in the coop in winter I use a couple of 250 watt bulbs for redundancy and to make sure they can handle temperatures below freezing on the outside. Under the lamps it stays toasty but the far end might have ice on it some mornings. But when I brood in the summer I use a 75 or 125 watt bulb, depending on conditions.

 

[Floppy Pheasant]

Ridgerunner...thanks!! My pheasants chicks are so tiny after hatch but within two weeks are flying and within 8 weeks they don't need me,so,I send them back to mom and dad...my Brahma's are 4 weeks now,they're in a big brooder in my garage but still under the heat lamp at night (it's getting cooler now)