Just brought home my new babies! And heat is hard to regulate!

[A_Fowl_Guy]

I wanted to get guineas too but they won't have them for awhile. Do they get along with your chickens?

I keep them separate and let them roam. The males can be quite mean during mating season.

 

[spryng]

I keep them separate and let them roam. The males can be quite mean during mating season.

Good to know!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't go by temperature (nor by the 95 first week, 5 degrees less every week after) but strictly by behavior. So once you see that the chicks are comfortably using the entire brooder area, that's the right temperature for them. Sounds like you're being very attentive to their heat needs!

 

[spryng]

I don't go by temperature (nor by the 95 first week, 5 degrees less every week after) but strictly by behavior. So once you see that the chicks are comfortably using the entire brooder area, that's the right temperature for them. Sounds like you're being very attentive to their heat needs!

Yeah I'm trying to learn as fast as possible lol but I am loving watching their behavior, they are getting more energetic as the day goes on, they get these cute spurts of energy and run all over, drink and eat then crash for a nap then repeat lol I'm in heaven!

 

[MIchickenlady]

Congratulations on your chickies!! You sound like you will be a dedicated chicken mama

 

[aart]

Brooder might be a bit small for a 250W heat bulb inside a house.

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'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. 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.

 

[spryng]

Brooder might be a bit small for a 250W heat bulb inside a house.

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'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. 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.

Thank you so much for that amazing information! They have definitely been comfy finally. And I didn't know about the dimmer! I'm going to find one today because in a few more days I'll need to lower the temp and was already trying to figure out how to raise that darn heat lamp lol so that's genius!