The two week olds like 80 degrees...

[Penske]

At two weeks old they should be at 90 degrees. Mine do not like 90 degrees...they prefer 75-80. Should I then just try to keep the brooder at 75-85 degrees???? They are happy, eating and drinking.

Thanks for your advice!!

Lisa

 

[thechickenchick]

If they are happy and seem healthy than I say its fine! It can depend on the size of the brooder and the # of babies you have. Those fluffy little butts do have some of their own body heat.

 

[McGoo]

I think you should base the temp on what THEY like, not what it says in any book. Mine are 1 1/2 weeks old and they like 85 ish. I took the thermometer out of the pen so I only use their preference and I don't get too worked up if it's a degree or two off. If they're piled up under the light - I bring the light closer... etc. you know the deal.

Just MHO

 

[debakadeb]

Mine also seem to like 80-85 degrees. Any hotter than that and they move to the other side of the brooder. If I figure mine were 3 days old when I brought them home, they are 11 days old today.

 

[gritsar]

No, you start them at 90 - 95 degrees, decreasing by 5 degrees a week; so at 2 weeks old they should prefer 80 - 85 (if my calculations are correct). My chicks never liked the 90 - 95 range. Now at 11 days old, they prefer it about 82. I too am going by what my chicks are telling me, not what the thermometer says.

 

[speckledhen]

Bad chickies! Didn't read the book like they were supposed to, LOL! Just go by what the chicks are telling you by their actions and they'll be fine.

 

[catfish]

Mines two weeks today. They was mad at me yesterday, cause I wouldn't let them out of the chicken coop. It was cold and raining.

Today it was about 82 out side and we opened the door this morning at about 8:30 and they piled out, and when the temp started dropping this eve around 7pm they all went back inside.

I'm so glad they're getting the idea where home is.

 

[BradyMSU]

I have a thermometer directly below the light and my light is at one end of my 6' long coop. For the first couple days I tried to keep the temperature at 90-97 degrees like I was told. I quickly realized that the area under the light was going up to 105 degrees in the late afternoon and would be down to 88 degrees in the early morning and then I can only regulate it that much because the brooder is in an insulated and heated coop. Having a job at traditional hours where I have to be away from home from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., I can't adjust the height of the lamp. Instead I have self-adjusting chicks who move closer to or farther away from the lamp as they get cold or hot. Even more important that having a lamp that can deliver the perfect temperature somewhere in the 20 degree range that will occur through the day is to have space for the chicks to move away from the lamp if they get too hot and to have the lamp close enough to produce adequate heat. I think 80 degrees would be the ideal minimum heat at two weeks as long as they can move away to a cooler area. I sounds like you're doing a great job.

My next decision is when to let my babies go outside. They're a week old today. I've read that many people will let them go outside in a run this early while others wait until they're a month old or more. I'd like to let them out but I've heard so many bad things about drafts that I'm worried. Maybe another week yet.