Nwe to this amazing site, 5 - 1 week old chicks question

[Rmansfield]

I just got my babies and they are home in my homemade brooder. We have a heat lamp and it's up to 95 on one side and down to about 70 on the other side but they are staying closer to the heat and panting. Will they figure it out to move away if they really need to? Or do I need to cool it down a bit?

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to joined the BYC family.
I think moving the heat lamp a little further away wouldn't hurt. With mine, I didn't use temperature, I went by the chicks. If they huddled together, they were cold. If they sprawled out panting, they were hot. If they were up moving around peeping happily, the light was just right. That's my two cents. Good luck with your girls!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! I too agree that it wouldn't hurt to raise the lamp a little and see how they get on. I also go on what my chicks are doing as to high or low the lamp is. Have you only just got them? They could be a little stressed getting used to their surroundings. Wishing you the very best of luck with your chicks in the future, I'm sure you will enjoy raising them it's lots of fun and very rewarding.

Enjoy BYC and all the chicken chat

 

[drumstick diva]

I think the 70degree end is too cold for them which is why they stayed at the hotter end, and are panting.

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

Can you move the lamp so it is more centered instead of at one end? That would help disperse the heat more evenly. Chicks will tell you if they are too hot (they move away from the lamp) or too cold (they'll stay right under the lamp). What you want them to do is move in and out of the warmer area so they can cool down a bit or warm up a bit as they want to. A 20-25 degree difference is a pretty big temp swing in a brooder.

Good luck with your new little chick flock, hope they do well for you!

 

[Rmansfield]

Thank you for all of the good advice. I actually have another light I can use on the other side of the brooder. Maybe I'll keep it up pretty high so the other side isn't so cold but also not really warm. They were new to our house just last night so that stress could have been part of it as well. They seem to be pretty happy this morning. I love this site! Thank you all!

 

[nj2wv]

Welcome to BYC !!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!