Raising baby chicks in Florida

[Rgeet]

I live in Florida and have had chickens for years but have never raised biddies. I am receiving several in August. It is in the 90s during the day but can be in the mid 70s at night. Do I need to use a warming lamp? They will be in an enclosed coop at night and let out into a run during the day. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[rosemarythyme]

A heat plate or "mama heating pad" would be a better option, as long as you don't have a large number of chicks, as it easily allows chicks to warm up when they want to, but otherwise be off heat the rest of the time.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Being in an area that is often warmer than Miami I prefer @Blooie 's MHP to the 250W heat lamp of deadly pastybutt. I used the heat lamp for my first flock and looking back at it am surprised I managed to keep them all alive. Local predators should also be a major concern regarding their housing arrangments that young. We lost 5 chicks in one night to what we suspect was a possum family. We rearranged our security posture and have installed lighting in the growout coop now. And have lost only 1 of 7 of the replacment flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...re-heavy-update.956958/page-808#post-17940584

Here is one of our new girls on the catwalk.

 

[TrishSelf]

I’m so glad to have found this thread. I have been out of the backyard chicken community for over 4 years (life changes), and I’m ready to get back into it. I very much appreciate the information given here on the temperatures for the chicks. My husband and I have just moved into a new area in Central Florida, and I am also not sure if I want to vaccinate baby chicks or not. The old Homestead had been my home for 25 years. We only want a small flock for our own egg production. Thoughts? I’m doing research as though I’m a brand new chicken mama. I’ve read the other threads on whether or not to vaccinate, but we are in a strange situation here in the south, where it never really gets cold and parasites don’t die off in the winter. I feel like I’ve forgotten everything.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Revisiting the MHP for heat other advantages is they are inexpensive(mine was $13-) and at max current mine draws about 40w vs 250w for the lamp. The chicks aren't exposed to light 24 hours a day either and seem calmer with it, but who knows if that is really a thing. I wish I had some expertise to offer with vaccinations and have never seen a case of Mareks but stopped ordering them with it. Who knows maybe it just isn't a thing where I live. Perhaps folks at the local feed store may be able to offer you better advice.

 

[chknlittle17]

I am on my second round of chicks and live here in FL. We keep the chicks inside until they do not need heat anymore. My newest ones will be inside for a while, until they can hold their own in my already established flock. I have a heat lamp that we use at night. During the day I put their brooder on my screened in porch so they can have some outside exposure. I will not let them loose outside, even with myself and kids standing by because of our ballsy hawk that hangs around. It likes to swoop at my head.