Temp in brooder dropped to 80 overnight!

[kristenm1975]

I have the heat lamp set up about 18 inches above the floor of the brooder and have covered the rest of the top so there's no cold air coming in, but it got REALLY cold here last night and this morning the temp in there was only a little above 80. The chicks are less than a week old. What should I be on t he lookout for in its caused problems for them?

They all looked lively when I came in, and were eating and drinking normally. They weren't even all huddled up under the lamp. They all seem to pile up a few inches to the left of it.

You think they're okay?

 

[BeardedChick]

They are probably OK, but you will likely have to deal with a bout of pasty butt.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yep, just keep an eye out for pasty butt. If they weren't huddling and smothering one another, they may be just fine. An extra heat lamp, even if it's just a 100W bulb as emergency back up at night might be a good idea if there's a chance the main goes out. Waking up to a dead bulb and frozen chicks isn't so fun.

 

[kriswester]

I had pretty much the exact same thing happen to mine and I spazzed! Figured they would all get pneumonia and die but then reasoned that if they FELT too cold they would have huddled underneath the light. That was 2 weeks ago (during a 'cold-snap' here in Fla) an they have been fine. Still eating and acting crazy! In my limited experience and from all the posts I've read on here I would think they will be okay.
Good luck!

 

[Bullwinkle]

I had an electrical issue in my house when my chicks were about 5 days old that required the electricity for the entire house to be turned off for a total of about 2 1/2 hours out of 4 hours (they turned it off for about an hour, turned it back on for an hour or so, then had to turn if off again because it wasn't fixed right).

The result for my chicks seems to be what several others mentioned above: about 17 of the 86 developed pasty butt. It went away after a few days. I would give them a little extra vitamins/electrolytes and also as suggested above, maybe an extra lamp in case one burns out.

Since they were all still eating and drinking though, I think they'll be fine. Mine were huddled in the corner trying to get warm. I worried myself sick the first week I had them (up many times during the night checking on them...). Now mine are 3 weeks old and I have them in an outside building (with x4 heat lamps) and they are doing fine. I also find myself waking up less often to check on them. It'll be ok

 

[chookchick]

I've been using a "snuggle-safe" in the brooder to give me peace of mind. I wrap it in a puppy pad and put it partway under the light, and it picks up the heat and holds it really well. I haven't had a bulb out yet this time, but I feel a lot better knowing they have it as a back up.

 

[cmom]

My light went out once. I work graveyard shift. When I came home from work I noticed that the light was out. I have a tray in the brooder with pine shavings in it. All the chicks were cuddled up in the tray. They all survived. I did have the brooder covered to hold in the heat.