Question on Temperature and Adding New Chick

[sunshineyarns]

Hi! Okay, I'm struggling with this and just hope I am doing it right....

We have 3 almost 4 week old chicks and 5 2 1/2 week old chicks that have been living together peacefully. I have been keeping the heating lamp at:

First week with just the 3 (between 95-97 (they thought this was perfect)
Second week around 90 (with the 5 new chicks in there)
Third week around 83-85.

Then, the first half of this week they were around 81-82 with plans to drop it today to high 70s.

BUT --- I BROUGHT HOME ANOTHER CHICK yesterday! Gah --- someone stop me

Its a sweet little Cinnamon Queen.

So, now I have the 2 smallest 2 1/2 week olds in there with her and they are doing great together. But, I felt like I needed to raise the temperature up on them, so its now back in the high 80s. They seem comfortable, exept for the black maran... she seems too hot and panting, so I moved her back in with the others. I'm concerned that now she'll be cold with the 10 degree temperature swing.

The bigger batch of girls are all now on room temperature, as I really didn't want 2 heat lamps in the bathroom. The room temperature in there is about 77-78 with that heat lamp on, so is that okay? They seemed to be okay overnight. We do have all different breeds that are growing at all different rates and some are getting to be more fully feathered that others.

Thoughts! I appreciate any advice and suggestions you may have.

 

[mistymeadowchicks]

Is your brooder big enough to have a light at each end w/ a cooler spot in the middle? You could use a larger bulb or closer to the bottom on one side for more warmth& raise the other? My (limited) experience is if you'll give them options, they'll choose where they are comfortable. I use a "hover" style in my brooder & from the get-go, some chicks stayed under it, some stayed at the edge, and some were completely outside of it. JMHO, but hope that helps. '

'

 

[Ridgerunner]

Seems like some people just go out of their way to make their life complicated, don't they. At least it makes for good stories.

Sometimes those chicks can be hard to resist.

First, the suggested temperature ranges are just ballpark ranges. Most chicks can do well a little outside those ranges. If they get acclimated, they can handle temperatures a lot cooler, at least for a while. Making big changes all at once is not really good. Some chicks prefer it cooler and some prefer it warmer. That is why it is a range.

I don't know what your set-up is like, but I would suggest you keep one area of the brooder in the correct range but let the rest cool off so they can find their own comfort zone. I'd also be a bit nervous about that youngest chick in with the oldest. That might be OK and it might not.

I set my brooder up in the coop. I keep one area of the brooder in the right temperature range but let the rest of the brooder cool down as much as 20 to 30 degrees cooler than the right temperatures. The first couple of days they tend to stay under the heat, but by the third day they are playing all over the brooder, coming back to the heat only occasionally. They can find their own comfort zone. I find this a lot simpler than trying to keep the entire brooder in the right range.

Good luck!

 

[sunshineyarns]

Yes, we have both sets of chicks in pretty big brooders. The small one with the baby chick is a big plastic container and we have the heat lamp sort of directed on just half of it... so that's true. The older ones in there with her can definitely have some cooler space to hang out.

The older ones are now off the heat lamp, and just at room temperature in their big box brooder, which is about 77 right now. I'm just worried that the Maran I moved back and forth a few times is comfortable.

My plans are that if the new chick catches up in size some, I will mix them all in again in 2 weeks or so. We have a Speckled Sussex that is just still so tiny in there with her. I have read that you shouldn't mix them until they are the same size, but our biggest one, an Americana, is about 4 times the size of that little Speckled Sussex (a little less that 2 weeks apart in age). What to do, what to do...

 

[sunshineyarns]

Thanks so much for the suggestions --- this is our first time with chicks, so I'm just nervous I'm doing it all right