How cold is too cold for baby chicks?

[LucyBO16]

I just got 1 day old baby chicks this evening. The thermometer says in the warmest spot that it is 92 degrees. Is that warm enough? How could is too cold? All feedback is appreciated.

 

[Beh789149]

Yes, that's warm enough. They will move around and adjust themselves to temperature as needed. Make sure your brooder has plenty of room.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd keep it around 90 under the heat source for the first day or two, then decrease the temp to around 85* or so and see how they do with that. The problem with heat lamps is that folks tend to adhere very tightly to the 5*/week rule, and they start at the upper end of the recommended temp. Chicks very quickly outgrow that 5* rule. My chicks are fully feathered and wean themselves off their heat in their outdoor coop brooder around 4 weeks old. It's also very important to be sure the temp in the unheated part of the brooder is about 20* lower than the heated end to start. Starting at 2 weeks old you can start weaning them off the heat if you are using a lamp, by turning the lamp off for a few minutes at a time, and increasing the length of time a bit more each day. If you have them in the house, they most likely will not need the lamp at all when they are 3 weeks old. Think of Mama Broody. She does not supply heat to her chicks other than the heat directly under her body, and her chicks spend most of every day chasing after her and playing outdoors in what ever the ambient temp and what ever the weather happens to be.

You might consider using a heating pad brooder. check out Blooie's article which can be found at the bottom of this post in my signature.