Temperature Question

[LadyVictorian]

So I have a question about my chicks I just got. I have 4 Silkie chicks who are almost a week old and just brought them home today. Anyways it says first week they should be under a heat lamp at 95 degrees and I set it to 95 degrees but they all spread out and laid out flat with wings opened so I figured they must be too hot and moved the lamp back a little more. It is now about 85 to 87 degrees, hard to read this needle so might get an electric thermometer to get exact heat. The chicks are not sleeping clustered together but not directly under the heat lamp. More in the middle of the brooder since I wanted to leave the other end without a heater in case they got too hot. Are they okay or are they too cold? I know it's not 95 but they really didn't look happy under 95 degrees and they all looked like chicken pancakes when it was that high.

 

[aart]

In an 80F room you don't need a 250W heat lamp, regular incandescent bulb will work just fine.
I use a red reptile bulb on a dimmer extension cord to regulate heat output.....
......when I'm not using the heating pad. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate



Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

 

[sourland]

It sounds as if they are okay. If they are too cold, they will huddle together and peep away.

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, if they are not going under the heat at all, you still have it too warm. I have switched to using a heating pad to brood chicks. Have done so with 3 broods of chicks, and will never use a heat lamp again. It's so very easy to over heat chicks with a heat lamp. With a heating pad, not likely to happen. Check out this article. Your chicks are already a week old, so by heat lamp standards, they should be at 80 - 85 directly under the lamp. IMO, turn that lamp back, or raise it as much as needed so that they are actually seeking out a bit of heat from it. You don't want them pig piled under it, but if they don't snuggle under it, IMO they are warmer than they need to be.

Check out this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

I wish you the best with your chicks.

 

[LadyVictorian]

Moved it up a little higher and shall see what they do next. They are still sleeping so not sure if they will go under it now. It's reading about 83 directly under the heat lamp on my thermometer. About three notches away from the 80 marker.

 

[LadyVictorian]

Also forgot to mention, they are in my bedroom which I keep heated to 80 degrees ordinarily because I have rats and in the winter if they get too cold they develop respiratory infections. Does that mean with the heat lamp and the heater they will overheat? their temp gauge is still reading only 83 directly under the lamp.

 

[donrae]

Chicks need access to a warm spot, around 95 degrees. Just a spot, not their entire world. So, heat lamp at one end with a nice warm toasty area. The rest of the brooder should be at ambient temp. 80 degrees is pretty darn warm, but it's what chicks would have as ambient temp were they raised by a broody in the summer, so it shouldn't be an issue. You will have to watch the temp under the lamp, though, to make sure it doesn't soar.

Most important thing is having a large enough brooder for the chicks to self regulate. they'll move from the heat to the cool as they need. Put the food and water at the cool end.

the heating pad is a nice concept and may work well for you. It mimics a broody hen for the babies. One nice warm cozy spot to huddle and warm up, then out and about in the rest of the world most of the time.

 

[LadyVictorian]

I already have the heat lamp on end end of the brooder and the food and water at the cool end. My brooder is about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long. I would say I have the lamp covering about 1 foot of space, where the food is the light from the lamp isn't even reaching there.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If the room they are in is 80 degrees than they may not need extra heat for long. Cold chicks huddle and peep. Hot chicks go far away from the heat. Happy chicks are spread out in different temperature zones. You can probably start turning out the lamp in the next week to see how they do without it as they should be okay at 80 degrees.

 

[LadyVictorian]

I moved the heat lamp up and they are now huddled under the heat lamp.