question on chicks

[jmilty]

We are getting 5 week old chicks we have a brooder set up in the shed i have a question regarding heat lamp. Do we have to use one for them? Day time temps are in the 80s and the shed stays warm and nightime lows are in 60s but I think the shed retains the heat. I was going to just put a little house in they could all huddle up in or is that not a good idea? Thanks!

 

[Dolivo]

Are you getting chicks that are 5 weeks old, or 5 chicks that are one week old? the answer makes a big difference!

 

[jmilty]

Oh sorry!!! 5 that are a week old!

 

[ilovechickens34]

I'd say that you will need a heatlamp for them at night, and see how they do during the day. If they seem like they're huddling together, then turn it on.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You could also try out MHP, Blooie's idea that I will be trying out on my next bunch of chicks. I've used heat light in the past but liking the idea of the MHP.

 

[Pendragonz]

https://www.amazon.com/Premier-Chic...12705-0601511?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
This is what I used this year for a batch of 25 chicks that will be my laying hens. It worked wonderfully. It may be a bit more expensive than setting up the MHP, but no set up involved.

 

[azygous]

Why don't you go over to Blooie's thread on "Mama Heating pad for the Brooder" and read the first few pages? Then set up a brooding pen in your coop or run. I like brooding in the run since there's so much room and the chicks have plenty of space to develop. Read my article on brooding outdoors linked below this post.

You will find your new chicks won't use their heat source much, if at all, at your summer temps. I brought my day-olds home and put them outdoors in a chick pen in May and it was just 70F, and they barely used the heating pad cave during the day, instead running all over exploring their new world.

Brooding indoors under a heat lamp in summer is going to risk over-heating with all the issues it brings. The heating pad will add no extra heat to the ambient temp as would a heat lamp, so I highly recommend it. Or if you have the $$, the heat plate is just as good.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might or might not be Ok without heat. With only five you don’t have a lot for them to generate heat by huddling together. There is a reason the hatcheries have minimum numbers for shipping unless you pay extra for a heat source to be shipped with them. The most critical time is the first few days. It doesn’t take them long until they get where they can manage cooler temperatures, especially in a box to retain heat. The best way to do what you are talking about would be to build a hover, a shallow inverted box. Hot air rises. A box like that would trap their body heat in there. Just make sure it is low enough on the sides and not too high so the heat is trapped at their level. It doesn’t have to be really big either. You can prop it up on blocks or bricks maybe or hang it from the ceiling, but expect them to spend a lot more time perched on top than under it.

I’d feel uncomfortable trying that with only five and an overnight low in the 60’s. What I find that works best whether it is pretty warm or even below freezing outside is to provide an area where they can warm up and an area where it is cool enough. When you brood outside you get a change in temperature, it’s hard to maintain a steady temperature. As long as one area is warm enough in the coldest temperatures and another area is cool enough in the warmest temperatures, I find chicks straight from the incubator or post office are really good at self-regulating. At a week old, yours won’t have any problems self-regulating.

I use 250 watt heat lamps in the winter and probably keep heat on until they are five weeks old, depending in how cold it is. In the summer I use a 75 watt heat lamp and watch the chicks. During temperatures much warmer than yours I once turned the daytime heat off at 2 days of age and the overnight heat off at 5 days. The chicks told me they didn’t need the heat by getting as far from it as they could get.

To me it doesn’t matter how you provide heat, heat lamps, heating pad cave, heat plate, hover, or something else. What’s important is that one area is warm enough and another area is cool enough. Then watch the chicks and see what they tell you. You can try a hover without a heat source but I'd be nervous. Still, it might work.

 

[Almost Heaven]

Being new to the world of chickens I wanted to ask about adding new chicks to my flock. I have 15 hens and 1 rooster at this time I am looking into buying 24 more 22 hens and 2 roosters. All day old chicks. I'm ok with the first 4 to 6 weeks as I still have my setup from my flock I have now. However my question is how will the older birds take to them when the time comes and 2 nt my roosters will all 3 be different breeds will that make a difference or will they still handle business?

 

[jmilty]

Thanks everyone we have decided we will use a heat lamp at night for a few weeks until they are old enough