Lost 2 chicks, 3rd dying...please help!

[Sunnyacres nest]

I forgot to mention I would recommend cutting out the grit in there diet for now,chick started feed will disolve and be palletable on it's own without grit and be digested just fine.

 

[s n l]

Okay. So what temperature SHOULD they be at for their age? It's going to get down to 72 degrees here tonight...

 

[s n l]

They are THREE WEEKS and a couple of days,,not quite 4 weeks....is 72 degrees outside with them inside a coop is that too cold? If I bring them inside our thermostat is at 73 at night, but by the time I turn on the heat lamp then they are at 80 minimum. I was told that's too hot...

 

[s n l]

How old are these chicks ?

they are 3 1/2 weeks...will be 4 weeks old on the 24th

 

[s n l]

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the help. ..I'm getting some great info

 

[FridayYet]

They are THREE WEEKS and a couple of days,,not quite 4 weeks....is 72 degrees outside with them inside a coop is that too cold? If I bring them inside our thermostat is at 73 at night, but by the time I turn on the heat lamp then they are at 80 minimum. I was told that's too hot...

80 is a good temp as long as there is space to get away from the heat and cool off. I have some about the same age and they are sleeping in the coop and it should get into the 50's tonight. They do have a brooder plate they go under when they want, but they are not using it as much these days. The more feathers they have, the less they need supplemental heat.

 

[s n l]

Thank you Friday yet....so they should be ok out tonight? Thete is no electric out to the coops. So it's either leave them out or bring back into the house and put the lamp back on.....

 

[FridayYet]

It's better for them to be a little cool than too hot. If you brought them inside, could you move the heat lamp up so they get a little bit of heat but not too much?

 

[chickmomma03]

If the lamp runs the temperature up to 104 please do not put that one back on. You need a bulb that doesn't put out too much heat. For the first week I kept mine at 95 first week, 90 second, 85 third, 80 fourth (most of the time I didn't need the light at this point), and room temp thereafter (2-3 more weeks) until they moved outside (it was summer so it wasn't cold at night). They need a place to escape the heat. I used a 43w bulb (equal to 60) pointed to the one side of the brooder, with a thermometer under so I could monitor temperature. I used a heat lamp that has the metal shield so it doesn't spread the light through the entire brooder giving them nowhere to escape to.

Also, I don't know what size box you have, but I used a clear plastic storage container for the first few weeks (no lid, but a screen sideways to prevent jump outs/fly outs) then moved them to a large fish tank with a screen for ventilation. Both worked well. I cleaned them regularly because chicks are messy.

I hope your little ones do alright.

 

[FridayYet]

If the lamp runs the temperature up to 104 please do not put that one back on. You need a bulb that doesn't put out too much heat. For the first week I kept mine at 95 first week, 90 second, 85 third, 80 fourth (most of the time I didn't need the light at this point), and room temp thereafter (2-3 more weeks) until they moved outside (it was summer so it wasn't cold at night). They need a place to escape the heat. I used a 43w bulb (equal to 60) pointed to the one side of the brooder, with a thermometer under so I could monitor temperature. I used a heat lamp that has the metal shield so it doesn't spread the light through the entire brooder giving them nowhere to escape to.

Also, I don't know what size box you have, but I used a clear plastic storage container for the first few weeks (no lid, but a screen sideways to prevent jump outs/fly outs) then moved them to a large fish tank with a screen for ventilation. Both worked well. I cleaned them regularly because chicks are messy.

I hope your little ones do alright.

I agree. But when I did use a heat lamp (which I will never go back to!) I only had the one red bulb, so I put the brooder box by a bookshelf and moved the heat lamp up one shelf every week, making sure it only heated one end of the box.

That's why I asked if it could be moved up or not.

Now mine go out to the brooder box in the coop at about 3 weeks and use a Brinsea Eco-glow they can go under if they want. They learn about sunset and sunrise, the sound of the other chickens, and therefore, integration is a snap!