How warm do they need to be?

[SandyRiverChick]

Hey ya'll!
I live in TX where is it still in the high 80 during the day. I have 7 3 day old chicks. My question is.. what temperature does their brooder need to be? I have a lamp in but sometimes it gets really warm.. like 100. When I unplug the brooder it gets in the 80s. So, I just want to make sure they don't get too hot or too cold. Can someone recommend a good temp range?

If you want a real game changer, start reading about Mommy Hut. This article is excellent. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/
I'm moving from Garage to Coop this year. I'll admit that I haven't completely thrown away the heat lamp, so they get Mommy Hut + heat, but they will never have an option great than around *80, it's just not necessary imo.

 

[Blooie]

I’m a firm believer in Mama Heating Pad and raising chicks outdoors with it. It’s worked for me for years, batch after batch, and I’ll never go back to the way I was trying to raise them. Using MHP, the chicks decide what they need, when they need it, and how to get it. Win, win! Regardless of ambient temperatures, they can regulate their needs themselves. If it’s hot, they just don’t go under it. If it’s cold, they duck under for a quick warmup, then they’re back to exploring or whatever they want to do. When the sun goes down, they either go underneath or they snuggle down beside or on top of it. In fact, the only difference between a broody hen and MHP is that MHP stays in one place - they don’t have to look for her if they need her.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I picked up my little cheeper's this morning. They're all eating, drinking, pooping, sleeping, looking great. The temp inside the mommy hut is about 85 and outside the mommy it's 65. They're mostly hanging out in 65. I continue to scratch my head over where this 100 degree standard comes from?! The chicks all say no thanks.....

 

[Blooie]

I picked up my little cheeper's this morning. They're all eating, drinking, pooping, sleeping, looking great. The temp inside the mommy hut is about 85 and outside the mommy it's 65. They're mostly hanging out in 65. I continue to scratch my head over where this 100 degree standard comes from?! The chicks all say no thanks.....

Amen!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I continue to scratch my head over where this 100 degree standard comes from?!

Same question on square feet per chicken in the coop or in the run, length per chicken of roost space, number of nests per hen, hens per rooster, how much room in a brooder, and all the other numbers that show up on this forum. You'll notice that a lot of different numbers show up for a lot of these. I've seen that 100 F in the brooder quoted but I don't think it is standard. I think 90 or 95 F are quoted more. At least I hope so, 100 F is getting close to too hot, especially if they can't get to a cooler spot.

I understand the need for guidelines. People with absolutely no experience show up to ask how to care for their chickens. They don't have the experience to even know where to start. Guidelines give them that starting point. Some numbers given on here are very cautious, they will pretty much keep people out of trouble even if they make some mistakes. Others may give numbers that can work in certain conditions but don't work in others, not cautious at all. They can get some people in trouble. We all have different conditions so the same numbers don't always work for all of us.

Where do some of these numbers come from? I don't know. For most, my guess is that somebody on here asked a question and somebody gave their opinion. Different people give different numbers so you see a lot of different numbers given. We all have different experiences, maybe some of those are actually based n experience, maybe they are just something they read or "well, it seems this should work so I'll use it".

Some numbers are taken out of context. Many of these come from studies paid for by the commercial poultry industry, either broilers or the egg laying hybrids, and may not have that much application to how we raise them. One easy example of "out of context" is number of hens per rooster. Hatcheries that use the pen breeding system and where their only goal is fertile eggs have come up with different ratios for full sized fowl or bantams that pretty much assures all eggs will be fertile if you use the pen breeding system. If you don't use the pen breeding system these ratios have nothing to do with fertility. In any case, they have nothing to do with roosters fighting, hens becoming bare backed or over-mated, yet they are quoted as the way to solve those problems. Totally out of context.

One that's been interesting to watch has been the roost length numbers. When I started on here I saw anything from 7" per bird to 15" as a minimum. Now I see 12" as the most quoted. It doesn't matter if you have tiny Sebrights or massive Jersey Giants, you have to have 12" per bird. It doesn't matter if they are all the same sex and age and fully integrated or a mix of maturity and maybe being integrated. Totally different situations.

I'll try to offer help to people, especially those just starting out. Usually with a little guidance they can do a good job.

 

[Blooie]

Same question on square feet per chicken in the coop or in the run, length per chicken of roost space, number of nests per hen, hens per rooster, how much room in a brooder, and all the other numbers that show up on this forum. You'll notice that a lot of different numbers show up for a lot of these. I've seen that 100 F in the brooder quoted but I don't think it is standard. I think 90 or 95 F are quoted more. At least I hope so, 100 F is getting close to too hot, especially if they can't get to a cooler spot.

I understand the need for guidelines. People with absolutely no experience show up to ask how to care for their chickens. They don't have the experience to even know where to start. Guidelines give them that starting point. Some numbers given on here are very cautious, they will pretty much keep people out of trouble even if they make some mistakes. Others may give numbers that can work in certain conditions but don't work in others, not cautious at all. They can get some people in trouble. We all have different conditions so the same numbers don't always work for all of us.

Where do some of these numbers come from? I don't know. For most, my guess is that somebody on here asked a question and somebody gave their opinion. Different people give different numbers so you see a lot of different numbers given. We all have different experiences, maybe some of those are actually based n experience, maybe they are just something they read or "well, it seems this should work so I'll use it".

Some numbers are taken out of context. Many of these come from studies paid for by the commercial poultry industry, either broilers or the egg laying hybrids, and may not have that much application to how we raise them. One easy example of "out of context" is number of hens per rooster. Hatcheries that use the pen breeding system and where their only goal is fertile eggs have come up with different ratios for full sized fowl or bantams that pretty much assures all eggs will be fertile if you use the pen breeding system. If you don't use the pen breeding system these ratios have nothing to do with fertility. In any case, they have nothing to do with roosters fighting, hens becoming bare backed or over-mated, yet they are quoted as the way to solve those problems. Totally out of context.

One that's been interesting to watch has been the roost length numbers. When I started on here I saw anything from 7" per bird to 15" as a minimum. Now I see 12" as the most quoted. It doesn't matter if you have tiny Sebrights or massive Jersey Giants, you have to have 12" per bird. It doesn't matter if they are all the same sex and age and fully integrated or a mix of maturity and maybe being integrated. Totally different situations.

I'll try to offer help to people, especially those just starting out. Usually with a little guidance they can do a good job.

Well said, my friend!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Amen!!!

Well I wasn't going to, but I woke up in the middle of the night and I knew I'd never get back to sleep if I didn't go out and check on them... To my surprise they were all laying just outside the mommy. At the risk of disturbing their perfectly peaceful sleep (but also I was being paranoid enough that I wanted to make sure they really were sleeping and not deceased!) I stuck the meat thermometer in the mommy. It reached *91. The chicks behavior has made it clear that's to much. I'm using the same ole Sunbeam over top but I added a new small one on the floor. The floor pad is at 1 out of 9 now and the one over top is on med. It's finally morning now and I just checked on them. All running around for a bit then gathering just under the "awning" of the mommy. It's only *53 out.... WHY didn't I do this years ago (outside.) Allllll that fluff and dust in my guest room was just never necessary.

 

[Blooie]

Well I wasn't going to, but I woke up in the middle of the night and I knew I'd never get back to sleep if I didn't go out and check on them... To my surprise they were all laying just outside the mommy. At the risk of disturbing their perfectly peaceful sleep (but also I was being paranoid enough that I wanted to make sure they really were sleeping and not deceased!) I stuck the meat thermometer in the mommy. It reached *91. The chicks behavior has made it clear that's to much. I'm using the same ole Sunbeam over top but I added a new small one on the floor. The floor pad is at 1 out of 9 now and the one over top is on med. It's finally morning now and I just checked on them. All running around for a bit then gathering just under the "awning" of the mommy. It's only *53 out.... WHY didn't I do this years ago (outside.) Allllll that fluff and dust in my guest room was just never necessary.

Little stinkers just defy conventional wisdom, don’t they? I only measured the temp on the floor of MHP once when @azygous asked what it might be. To my surprise it was 82.5 in a 69 degree room. They should have been dead, if I’d followed the norms….instead they’d been using it for a week (or maybe even more) and were thriving! Since then most people over on the thread who have checked the temperature have reported an average of 82-86 degrees, and find that seems to be the sweet spot. Of course, it’s still essential to keep an eye on their behavior to see if you need to change the heat setting, or raise or lower the cave itself.

Changing an entire brooding system from indoors to outdoors really is scary the first time or two! It takes a huge leap of faith to go from indoor brooding to brooding them outdoors. The first time I did it I was a nervous wreck, but I sat on my hands and let them figure things out. I did have to made an adjustment to the height of the cave so the pad was closer to their backs the first night, but after that initial week, I just ran with outdoor brooding and never looked back! MHP and outdoor brooding is so much “less”….less stress on me and on them, less mess in the house, less nervousness in the chicks because they learn to self-calm, and less drama with integration!

 

[Canina]

At 3 days old, they need a warm area that's roughly 90-95F. With a heat lamp, you might need to raise it more or switch out for a lower wattage bulb to still provide heat but get the temperature down lower.

Use a thermostat controller for all heat sources around any animal

 

[Carters Chick House]

Same question on square feet per chicken in the coop or in the run, length per chicken of roost space, number of nests per hen, hens per rooster, how much room in a brooder, and all the other numbers that show up on this forum. You'll notice that a lot of different numbers show up for a lot of these. I've seen that 100 F in the brooder quoted but I don't think it is standard. I think 90 or 95 F are quoted more. At least I hope so, 100 F is getting close to too hot, especially if they can't get to a cooler spot.

I understand the need for guidelines. People with absolutely no experience show up to ask how to care for their chickens. They don't have the experience to even know where to start. Guidelines give them that starting point. Some numbers given on here are very cautious, they will pretty much keep people out of trouble even if they make some mistakes. Others may give numbers that can work in certain conditions but don't work in others, not cautious at all. They can get some people in trouble. We all have different conditions so the same numbers don't always work for all of us.

Where do some of these numbers come from? I don't know. For most, my guess is that somebody on here asked a question and somebody gave their opinion. Different people give different numbers so you see a lot of different numbers given. We all have different experiences, maybe some of those are actually based n experience, maybe they are just something they read or "well, it seems this should work so I'll use it".

Some numbers are taken out of context. Many of these come from studies paid for by the commercial poultry industry, either broilers or the egg laying hybrids, and may not have that much application to how we raise them. One easy example of "out of context" is number of hens per rooster. Hatcheries that use the pen breeding system and where their only goal is fertile eggs have come up with different ratios for full sized fowl or bantams that pretty much assures all eggs will be fertile if you use the pen breeding system. If you don't use the pen breeding system these ratios have nothing to do with fertility. In any case, they have nothing to do with roosters fighting, hens becoming bare backed or over-mated, yet they are quoted as the way to solve those problems. Totally out of context.

One that's been interesting to watch has been the roost length numbers. When I started on here I saw anything from 7" per bird to 15" as a minimum. Now I see 12" as the most quoted. It doesn't matter if you have tiny Sebrights or massive Jersey Giants, you have to have 12" per bird. It doesn't matter if they are all the same sex and age and fully integrated or a mix of maturity and maybe being integrated. Totally different situations.

I'll try to offer help to people, especially those just starting out. Usually with a little guidance they can do a good job.

I'm planning on using the heat plate. So many brands to choose from. Suggestions on brand?