Temperature Question

[novastar]

Hi all,
I'm brand new to raising chickens and I have 3 Barred Rock hens. They are a week and a half old. Anyways, I had them in a plastic tote for a week and felt that they were getting cramped. I'm using a red heat lamp bulb, I believe it's 250 watt.
I decided to make a wire, circular cage out in our three season, covered front porch, which is not insulated.
I put some cardboard around half of the cage to keep some heat in. I also put some tinfoil on top of the cage and light before I went to bed. Well it got pretty chilly last night and i checked in them in the middle of the night. The digital thermometer I have read 73!!! They seemed alright though and weren't sleeping directly under the lamp.
This morning it was still 73 so I rotated the board the lamp is hooked to which lowered the lamp further into their cage. The temp is currently 79.
I'm wondering if this cage out in a cooler area is ok? By the norm, the temp should be 90 but the chicks seem to be acting normal and not hovering right under the lamp. Could the infared bulb be affecting the thermometer causing inaccurate readings? How can lower temps affect my chicks? Will they be ok?
Sorry for the length. Any advice or tips would be great.
Thanks!

 

[newmarch2014]

It could be that your thermometer is not completely accurate. as long as they are not in a drafty spot the old guy at the feed store told me " if they are not huddled under the lamp and not spread out as far as they can be from it you do not have to stress about the temps" Try to put the thermometer directly under the hottest spot and see what it reads, try another thermometer if need be. The biggest thing is if they are not huddled under it they are probably comfortable. They just need that spot of warmth just like if they had a hen to go to and get warm but the entire brooder does not need to nor should be that warm.

 

[novastar]

Thanks, the helps. I'm trying not to be too worried about the temp but my thermometer isn't really following the weekly temp guidelines for chicks. They usually sleep along the edge of the rays of the lamp, and sometimes I'll see one under it but when they aren't sleeping they are running about and peeping.
Thanks for your input!