Need your help with heat lamp question!

[pinkribbons4]

Ok so I have a question for y'all...

I have 3 two week old chicks. I have them in the brooder with the heat lamp on one end of it. They are in a corner on the opposite end of the brooder without the heat lamp. They have not gone towards the heat lamp once since bringing them home yesterday afternoon! I think they are too hot. The weather here is warm. Today it is 79 out, and the house is pretty darn warm. Should I not have the heat lamp on?

Help!

 

[poultry plus]

sounds like they are to warm just turn heat lamp off or try raising it higher and see what they do that what i would start with

 

[Iridian]

Ya they are definately too hot, if they are in the far side of brooder. I would be reluctant to turn it of completely, but it definatey needs to be raised up to lower the temperature.

It should be around 80 degrees consistantly for them at 3 weeks I think. You need t be able to read the temp, to be sure it stays around there even at night.

You may have to turn off the lamp during the day, and back on again at night, but you wont be sure unless you have a thermometer.

Iri

 

[Pasadenachicken]

Thermometer is a good idea but a dimmer can help regulate temperature. I have found the floor lamp dimmers, a cord with a dimmer box attached, work well. I kept reptiles for years and needed warm temps, this combined with a red lamp usually did the trick. The dimmer is about 15 dollars. They last forever. I just got one for my brooder and it will prevent you having to move the lamp up and down. Just turn it up and down as needed during the day and at night.

 

[aggiemae]

Like someone said raise the lamp or get a lower wattage bulb. I tried to use a thermometer but found it easier to just watch the chicks.When the temperature is right they will use the whole brooder.

As recommended, we stared with a 120 watt bulb at 95 degrees but the baby chicks all huddled in the farthest corner and completely avoided the area under the lamp so I kept moving the lamp up until the temp was just under 90 degrees. Then I raised the lap a few inches every week until I got it as high as it would go when I switched to a 60 watt (red) heat lamp. Unless it's raining they are outside all day now and I think it's about 60 degrees in the brooder where they spend their nights.

We are working on our coop and I bought them in from the run today we were still using the extension cord for the saw and I forgot to plug in the light. When i did my evening check they were sleeping in a tight pile instead of on the perch.