How hot is too hot to have baby chicks outside in brooder?

[floridachickhatcher]

When i open the back of the brooder i can see the baby's panting and i have a thermometer in there and its in the 90's outside should i bring them inside and put them back into the plastic tub brooder i had them in after they were born? Cause i'm afraid of going out there one day and finding them dead We have a tarp draped over the roof to keep the sun from beating down on them and the sides are uncovered so they get a breeze from that and the doorway to the eating area

Opps sorry i posted this in wrong section

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Are they on a solid floor or wire? A solid floor with bedding actually starts composting unless you're changing it daily or every couple of days. The composting bedding creates heat, making it hotter inside the brooder than the outside - even with a breeze.

Raise the tarp so that there is a good air gap between it and the top of the brooder. You're actually trapping heat inside if it's laying directly ontop. You need the tarp to provide shade, not act like a blanket.

Also, make sure they have an adequate source of water. Sometimes when it is hot and humid you will have to give fresh water more than once a day.

 

[floridachickhatcher]

The front part is wire and the sleeping area is floor and i gave them fresh water today i have the food and water up front cause they have been in the back part for 5 days and we want them to go up front to get the cool breeze on them

 

[jvls1942]

If the temp is 90F, where is this cool breeze coming from?

try to get some cross ventilation..

and yes, if they are panting,,they are too hot.. I start all of my chicks at 80F in the brooder.. as long as they don't have to huddle to keep warm, they are warm enough...

 

[A.T. Hagan]

They need shade, plenty of fresh, clean water, and decent air flow. Doesn't have to be a fan on them, but they shouldn't be in a closed up box where there is no air flow. Other than that they'll pant, but will be OK. It's hot right now and that's normal. All of my birds are outside and they do OK. They go through more water than other times of the year and they eat less when it's really hot, but otherwise they are OK.

Edited to add: To be clear if your brooder is not large enough for the chicks to get away from the heat source then by mid-morning or so you can probably just turn the thing off completely. The outside air temp will be high enough for it not to be necessary and by afternoon in a small brooder it could become a danger. Turn it back on along about dark or thereabouts when the air temperature sinks to under 90.

These last several days I could have incubated eggs outside simply by leaving them on the workbench.

 

[hennyannie]

You could also use an umbrella to shade the brooder, I bought some inexpensive beach umbrellas to put up around my grow out pen.