My week old chicks are hott!

[Allie3513]

So it's like 100 degrees here n very high humidity. I have my week and half old chicks outside in our non air conditioned shop. The light is just too much for them.
I have been finding the panting, huddled in the corner away from light so I decided last night to just turn the light off.
Will they be ok without a light? There is about 20 or so I'm hoping they can huddle if the night temps do effect them.

 

[lazy gardener]

You will be more lucky if they don't die from being over heated. How old are they? You might want to offer 2 waterers, one with plain water, and one with electrolytes.

 

[newmarch2014]

Good call on getting rid of the light. New chicks only need 90 degrees for the first week and then 5 degrees less per week till you get to "regular" temps. outside (which in my case here in utah is 100 this week haha) I agree with the above post (going to get some nutridrench for my flock today as it will be this hot for the next week at least.) Mine are all older than yours but overheating is much worse than the worry of them being too chilly at nigh this time of year what are you getting down to at night 85? That is still plenty warm really. Garages can get very much hotter than outside temps so you may want to think of moving the brooder to a shady outside spot if it is secure. The light is for chicks that come home in the spring when temps are still fluctuating and are sometimes too cool for unfeathered babies in other words below 80 degrees. If I were bringing chicks home to Utah this week they would be in their brooder with a small fenced outside yard with plenty of provided shade and ventilation with a covered top to provide protection from predators.

 

[TRMFAM]

We are in NE Oklahoma and can attest to the current heat and humidity...we used a Sweeter Heater instead of the light. This type of heater works similar to the heating pad cave thread where it does not heat up the brooder, just the area under it and if the chicks are cold they run under for however long they want and back out again.

At week 3, we ended up removing even the sweeter heater due to the crazy temps. We are forecasted for rain tomorrow and 10* cooler temps over the weekend...just guessing it might hit you Saturday-Monday. You may want to look into the heating pad setup for the follow on cooler days...I think it is very cost effective and the healthier option for the chicks.

 

[Allie3513]

I do have an outside brooder which I can move them to this afternoon. I've just been waiting for them to get a bit older where the heat lamp is less of an issue. They were all very happy and active this morning, so I was pleased with my decision to pull the light.

The shop they are in is actually in our barn, and stays pretty comfortable most of the time as long as all the lights are on.
I have been leaving the door open to allow some air circulation though. I usually only shine the lamp to one area anyway, to allow they the chance to regulate their own temp.. but with the heat lamp plus high temp.. I just think it is too much right now.

Our temps vary at night. A low of 75 is the forecast for tonight. A low of 66 tomorrow night after the rain moves in.

 

[BlackBriars]

We're experiencing similar weather here west of Ft Smith.

My chicks are 10 days old in an outdoor brooder under a shade tree. They started with a lamp but haven't used it in the past three days or so. I find they are more rested and ready to go in the mornings without the red light or any light source at night, as well as more energetic throughout the day.

In the mornings, once they have eaten and drank water, about 1/3 of the 31 chicks will huddle briefly for warmth in the corner for 20 minutes or so then go about their day.

During the heat of the day, they were becoming lethargic and some laid on their sides with wing spread so I converted one of the access doors into a shuttered window by adding hardware cloth which allows a cross draft. That coupled with filling their waterer with chilled water during the heat of the day seems to be keeping them active.

I may turn the lamp back on if temps dip back into the 60's but keep it well above the floor. It seems these chicks are well adjusted to the temps and stress very little..

 

[tcl322]

My chicks are almost three weeks. They are in a brooder in our coop. It has been very hot here and the coop reaches 95 in the heat of the day despite having two large windows (one with a fan blowing in it), vent holes and a screen door. I have been putting ice in one of their waters during the hottest part of the day. I also put two frozen water bottles in there. Noticed a few of them panting yesterday so today I also added a frozen milk jug. The water bottles are in koozies and the milk jug is wrapped in a shirt. I was afraid they would be too cold without anything and also too slippery to perch on. They really seem to like these. I need to finish my milk so they can have another one! They sit on it and lay next to it. We have 19 chicks right now.

 

[tcl322]

 

[rides2far]

Hey, BlackBriars, where r u located? My sister is in Wister. Sounds like you're in a similar area. I'm here in sunny hot California. 108 today, but at least not the humidity you guys have. We have box fans going, plus put in a mister system in the run. Hopefully these 105 + days will be gone soon. We r keeping the window fans on in the coop since it isn't cooling off at night.

 

[BlackBriars]

Hey, BlackBriars, where r u located? My sister is in Wister. Sounds like you're in a similar area. I'm here in sunny hot California. 108 today, but at least not the humidity you guys have. We have box fans going, plus put in a mister system in the run. Hopefully these 105 + days will be gone soon. We r keeping the window fans on in the coop since it isn't cooling off at night.

Hi rides2far, I'm about an hour west of Ft Smith along I-40.

It dropped into the upper 60's last night so the heat lamp is back on!