It the normal room temp is hot, do you still need a heat lamp?

[RavenStorm]

I'm going to be picking up a batch of day-old chicks in the next two weeks, exactly the time that our area is probably going to be hitting the mid 90's. This time of year is normally quite hot but with only about 30% humidity at the most, and while we have have had unseasonably cool weather so far the forecasts are that it is going to get hot in the next few weeks. If the room temp is 80-95% naturally, do I still need to put up a heat lamp in the brooder? I was planning on turning it on when evening comes and it gets cooler, but what about during the day?

 

[bangor777]

just try to keep the brooder to the right temp (95 the first week and then drop 5 degrees each week). So, no you don't need a heat lamp if it's 95 degrees in the room. i had my chickies heat lamp off all day today, i'll turn it back on later tonight!

hope that helps!

 

[gritsar]

I agree with bangor. Leave it off during the day, turn it on as evening comes. But more importantly, watch your chicks. Cold chicks huddle together. Comfortable chicks move around checking things out. Too hot chicks spread out as far as possible, spread their wings, and sometimes pant.

 

[RavenStorm]

Thank you both, I just wasn't sure. It seems like most books and information I come across is meant for people who are doing this back east where it gets cold. Finding out what I need to know for such a hot location just means that I need to ask a lot more questions I guess.