How old are they? Want to keep them warm enough!

[lorenlouise08]

Can anyone tell me how old my babies are? I bought them from a feed store. I don’t see any tail feathers...and what I read is that means they’re less than 2 weeks? Just want to make sure I’m keeping them warm enough.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

At least a full week.Peobably still need a heat lamp and they look fairly chilly.Do you have the needs for them?

 

[lorenlouise08]

At least a full week.Peobably still need a heat lamp and they look fairly chilly.Do you have the needs for them?

I have a heat lamp. I didn’t get a thermometer though. they are all huddled together so I’m assuming they’re cold but I don’t want to make them too hot. Is there a rule of thumb for distance of the lamp?

 

[TheTwoRoos]

You should always have the heat lamp in a corner while rest of cage should be shade.If their cold they will run tot he heat and if their too hot they will run to the shaded area.

 

[Cyprus]

They look like they are about 1.5 wks. They are too cold, read above post.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Do you have cages,feeders,waterers?Do you have feed or bedding?

 

[lorenlouise08]

Do you have cages,feeders,waterers?Do you have feed or bedding?

Yes I do. I own other chickens, just haven’t had chicks this young. We were just loving on them a bit.

How far away does the lamp need to be? It’s about 14 inches above the base of the tub they’re in. If I move it any closer it will sit on top of the metal lid. (It has holes for ventilation....kind of like a sheet pan made of really thick screen.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I would keep it a foot and half away from the ground,Don’t need anyone bumping their heads or burning your place down.Soumds like your doing good.As long as you have a heated corner in the brooder they should be just fine,

 

[aart]

How far away does the lamp need to be?

There is no hard number....good to have a therm but good by behavior.

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'. 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.