Major high temperature problems!

[joeyfender]

So I have a 1 week old RIR and a 1 week old BJG or BA not sure. But the temperature keeps going from 68-101! I cannot seem to keep the temp steady! It very frustrating!

 

[joeyfender]

Any tips on how to keep the temp steady?

 

[outdoorpodcast]

You could wire in a water heater thermostat to your heat lamp, and that'll keep it steady. You could also raise your heat lamp for an easier solution. I find that keeping the brooder in a constant area like an indoor room is better than keeping in the garage where surrounding temps fluctuate. I personally don't worry about the temp so much in the brooder, my brooder is fairly big and I put the lamp in a corner and face it towards the middle. This allows for hot, warm and cold spots in the brooder.

 

[Fred's Hens]

There is no need to keep it steady.

Part of the fluctuation is likely due to night and day time temps change in the environment.

Just a note, that light fixture looks very large for such a small brooder. A lower watt bulb might be in order. You might also consider pointing it to just one end. Let the other end be cooler. This is a good thing as chicks do need a cooler area to retreat to when they over heat. Cooling off is just as important as warming up.

 

[stefan333]

I use a red 125W bulb. The 250W is way too hot. I agree with the last post with the addition of: Don't point the light toward the feeder and waterer -might cause it to heat up, and the chicks might not want to go there to eat. I don't think measuring temp in a brooder does much good. Just watch the baby chicks behavior. If they're crowded under the light piling on top of each other chirping crazily they're too cold, if they're trying to escape by running to the edges of the box they're too hot. They should be running around all over, sleeping randomly, just looking happy and comfortable.

 

[joeyfender]

I moved down to a 100 Watt before I got my chicks