New shepherd questions

[s98330q]

Good evening everyone. Brand new chicken shepherd here. We got our flock of 10 chicks the other day, 2x Rhode Island Red, 2x Buff Orp, 2x Speckled Sussex, 2x Rainbox Dixie, and 2x Black Australorp, all pullet. I have them in the homemade brooder box, in the house with a heat lamp. The temp in the box closest to the lamp is 82F. My question is: They are all in 3 clumps in different spots in the box. 3 are clumped under the lamp, 3 others are in the far back corner in a clump, and the 4 remaining are moving around the box but not really stopping anywhere. They are all quiet, and seem to be happy. Im assuming they are all happy and comfy, but I just want to make sure. Also, to turn the heat lamp off for a period of time each day, or leave it on 24/7? I did read the article on here about not brooding in a warm box for too long, and Ill be sending them outside soon. Thanks for your help....!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Until they're ready to come off heat they should be provided with a consistent heat source. BY having a warmer area and cooler area in the brooder, the chicks can decide for themselves if they want to be warmed or not.

From your description they sound pretty good with the temperatures as they are now.

 

[aart]

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.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate