Topic of the Week - Brooding and supplementing heat for chicks

[Kayana]

Temperaturefor baby chicks, and when can they be free of the lamp

When I get new chicks I have never had to use a traditional heat lamp. I have found that on my covered porch I can get away with just a 60 watt bulb in a heating lamp. On cold days I just simply covered the in lit area with a towel for heat escape areas where it will still stay warm but not hot. Hot days I only had to use a 60watt bulb at nights. I would just simply sit the box or that in a sunny spot with a shady area for them to escape the direct sunlight when they grew to warm. I live in Alabamaso winters are pretty short lived here. I usually do this til they are a few weeks old,by then they are usually ready for the outside full time.

 

[azygous]

Brooder temp:

I can get pretty "heated up" over the official heat guide of 95F the first week, and five degrees reduction each following week. It's much too warm and actually works against chicks. I discovered quite by accident that chicks much prefer 80 to 85F, between 25 and 30C if you're using the dreadful heat lamp. I much prefer the heating pad system which produces just the right temp for new babies.

When is cold too cold?

I assume this means ambient temp. It's never too cold as long as chicks have a heat source. My chicks do splendidly in ambient temps in the 30s. Blooie has had hers down in the teens.

At what age can they start going outside for short periods?

Hah! Mine start life outdoors! It's never too soon! But back when I brooded indoors, I would bring the chicks out at two weeks to begin the integration process in a safe chick pen in the run. They would indicate when they needed to go back inside under heat when I saw them crawl back inside their pet carrier and huddle.

Brooding outdoors is the best way to get sturdy, self confident, cold tolerant chicks, and they are accepted into the flock from the very start, making integration a breeze.

When can they move outside full time?

If you've been brooding outdoors, of course the chicks are already outside and are ready to move into the coop with the adults around five weeks. If you've been brooding indoors and bringing the chicks outside over a couple weeks and acclimating them and getting them integrated with the flock by means of a panic room, they also will be ready for full time residency around five weeks.

I get miffed when I see a thread where the chicks have been stuffed in a brooder under heat for six weeks and they want to know if the chicks are ready to move outdoors. Well, the answer is probably not until they've been weaned off heat and acclimated to the colder temps outdoors. That's the beauty of brooding outdoors from the beginning. The chicks never need to go through acclimatizing.

My article on outdoor brooding is linked below this post.

 

[BullChick]

Brooder temp:

I can get pretty "heated up" over the official heat guide of 95F the first week, and five degrees reduction each following week. It's much too warm and actually works against chicks. I discovered quite by accident that chicks much prefer 80 to 85F, between 25 and 30C if you're using the dreadful heat lamp. I much prefer the heating pad system which produces just the right temp for new babies.

When is cold too cold?

I assume this means ambient temp. It's never too cold as long as chicks have a heat source. My chicks do splendidly in ambient temps in the 30s. Blooie has had hers down in the teens.

At what age can they start going outside for short periods?

Hah! Mine start life outdoors! It's never too soon! But back when I brooded indoors, I would bring the chicks out at two weeks to begin the integration process in a safe chick pen in the run. They would indicate when they needed to go back inside under heat when I saw them crawl back inside their pet carrier and huddle.

Brooding outdoors is the best way to get sturdy, self confident, cold tolerant chicks, and they are accepted into the flock from the very start, making integration a breeze.

When can they move outside full time?

If you've been brooding outdoors, of course the chicks are already outside and are ready to move into the coop with the adults around five weeks. If you've been brooding indoors and bringing the chicks outside over a couple weeks and acclimating them and getting them integrated with the flock by means of a panic room, they also will be ready for full time residency around five weeks.

I get miffed when I see a thread where the chicks have been stuffed in a brooder under heat for six weeks and they want to know if the chicks are ready to move outdoors. Well, the answer is probably not until they've been weaned off heat and acclimated to the colder temps outdoors. That's the beauty of brooding outdoors from the beginning. The chicks never need to go through acclimatizing.

My article on outdoor brooding is linked below this post.

Amen! Brooding outside is best if you can do it!

 

[Blooie]

I decided that the best way to know what is ideal for chicks is to study Mama Hens and see how they do it. I was raising chicks indoors under a heat lamp and I knew there had to be a better way! That lamp heated the floors, the walls, the food, the water, the bedding and the air, when all I needed to keep warm were the little babies! We all know that the ideal situation is a good broody, but sometimes they just don't go broody when chicks are available, or they end up not being as good with raising chicks as they are setting eggs and we have to be prepared to step in. <sigh> So mimicking a good broody as closely as possible seemed to be the logical way to go. But how?

Mama Hen doesn't heat the entire space the chicks occupy. The recommended heat lamp setup has the lamp on one end and a "cooler" space in the rest of the brooder. But that space in the average brooder that folks build is usually only a few degrees cooler than the area directly under the lamp - a difference that's barely noticeable to chicks stuck in there 24/7. The bigger the brooder, of course, the bigger the temperature difference between the heated and unheated places, but it's still not all that great. Now, @Ridgerunner can achieve big differences - he's said that while the chicks are in his outdoor brooder under the lamp they are nice and toasty but on the other side of the brooder there is sometimes frost and a little skim of ice in the water. Most of us with our usual selection of brooders can't achieve that natural swing - or we panic if we accidentally do! In the coop the temperature difference between "under Mom's wing" and the rest of the surroundings can be 40 degrees or more - yet the chicks thrive. Chicks explore their outdoor surroundings, even running through a skiff of snow in the yard, and are still happy, growing, and strong. How can that be if they have to be at precisely 95 the first week, 90 the second, etc?

The short answer is that I simply don't believe they need those constant, high temps. Seriously, they don't. I know what conventional wisdom says, but in the case of chicks I believe that conventional wisdom actually runs contrary to common sense. In my search for finding a more natural way to raise chicks, I ran across a video done by Patrice Lopatin showing her new chicks being raised OUTDOORS, in a straw cave heated with just a heating pad, and the temperature out there was 40 degrees. WHAAAATTT???? And talk about happy, healthy chicks!! Then in conversations with my good friend @Beekissed , who not only raised chicks with MHP but actually hatched eggs that way too, the idea was cemented into my head and wouldn't leave.

So I did it. It started with Scout, a little chick who was injured outside while living under a broody hen. Temps had been in the 60s and 70's, then in just 2 days plummeted to minus 17 degrees. (Yeah, welcome to Wyoming!) He managed to freeze his feet at the waterer so he had to come in for treatment. That was the first time I put Mama Heating Pad to work, and it exceeded every expectation. He thrived. By the time I had moved his entire heating pad setup back outside, it was in the teens, he was just a few weeks old, and then temps dropped to 4 degrees below zero and stayed that way. He was happy as could be, running under his cave for a quick warmup and then running back out to practice being a chicken. He integrated himself back into the flock, he grew, and when he decided he was a big boy and didn't need his cave anymore he just transitioned himself from brooder to flock and roost. Talk about stress-free transitioning!

I have raised every batch of chicks with Mama Heating Pad out in our run, regardless of temperatures, ever since.. Although I learned about it from Ms.Lopatin and @Beekissed , and I knew the "whys" of this method, I didn't know the precise "hows" of making a setup and having it work. It had been very hard to find concise, in-one-place directions, and since I'm a visual learner rather than being successful with dry, written instructions, I decided to share in photos what I was learning - as I went - with others on the off chance that they, too, were looking for a better way. I never anticipated that the Mama Heating Pad thread would take on a life of its own, but there were sure a lot of people out there who also wanted a more natural way to raise chicks, and a lot of people who'd already been doing it (or something similar) and were eager to share what they'd learned!

For those of you looking for precise temperature information, shortly after bringing our first totally "cave raised" chicks home and setting up MHP in the living room, someone asked me what the temperature was under the cave. Shoot, I didn't know - I never measured. I just knew I had happy chicks scooting under Mama Heating Pad if they got spooked or needed a quick warm-up, had them climbing on top of it for a game of King of the Mountain or a nap, they were sleeping through the night from sundown to sunup, and they were thriving. So I decided to find out about those temps. A wireless thermometer under there showed me that the temp on the floor of the cave was 82.9 degrees - the rest of the room was 69 degrees. <GASP> My chicks should be dead instead of sprouting little feathers and getting stronger! The key is that the contact of pad at the "roof" of the cave with their backs turns out to mimic Mama Hen! It's soft. It's warm. It's dark. A couple of days later their brooder with Mama Heating Pad was set up outside in the run, and they never missed a beat. At a week old they were living outside in full view of the rest of the flock despite a few snowstorms! Never lost a chick or had one get sick. It worked!!

I watched their behavior rather than the numbers on a thermometer and made adjustments until they were happy. Too cool? They'd huddle in a corner, either under the pad or in the far corner of the run and cheep like crazy. That wasn't a hard fix - I just smooshed the top of the cave down a bit more or turned the heat up a notch and they were content. Too warm? They'd avoid the cave completely or hang around right at the front entrance. I'd pull up the center of the cave a bit or lower the temp a click. Done. As they feathered out more (and fast, living outside like that!) I turned the heat down one or two clicks. By the time they were 3 weeks old, the pad was turned down to 2 or 3, and they were spending most of their time on top of it or tucked around the sides, just like they do when they all start getting too big to fit under a broody at one time. By 4 weeks old the pad was off and we had almost total integration with the flock. By 5 weeks, the brooder was removed (or the current chicks totally evicted to make room for a new batch) and integration was complete and seamless. And temperatures out in the run varied between 40s during the day and the teens and twenties at night, with occasional 60 mph winds and sideways blowing snow. This year I ordered some chicks and hatched some others, timing it so they would all be about the same age. Within 24 hours of hatching and drying completely, all the chicks went outside to live, and that includes the Silkies.

My experience tells me that overprotecting chicks with heat lamps is as far from natural as it can possibly get. The heat is constant, dry, and all-encompassing. No wonder they get stressed if, after 6 to 10 weeks of that, they are suddenly expected to go live outside where the environment is totally different, it gets dark, and everything is new and scary. And having never been without that heat lamp's light and temperatures, they can't deal well with the dark and they sure aren't used to having a bit a chill, even if it's only by 5 or 10 degrees or so. You do have to watch your chicks to be able meet their heat needs with MHP - but you'd be doing that anyway with a heat lamp, right? And how many of us struggled to meet that "ideal" temperature - moving the lamp up or down, trying thermostats and thermocubes, and still ended up with chicks that were kept too warm, and then were in a total panic the first time they felt 70 degrees?

Is it perfect? Nope. Neither is a heat lamp, and even Mama Broody Hen can make some mistakes that result in chick deaths too. But by letting the chicks learn from day 1 to self-regulate, to meet their own needs as much as possible, and for me to be able to make small changes based on their behavior is the only way this lady will artificially raise chicks again. Not obsessing over this temp or that one is liberating and the result for me and for many others has been calm, strong chickens!

 

[lazy gardener]

There has been a lot of discussions and questions asked on brooding chicks and heating and we thought it'd be handy to have all the questions, answers and expert opinions together in one thread for reference and discussion. All of you, please tell us your thoughts and practices when it comes to brooding chicks and supplementing heat. What worked best for you, things to do and NOT to do, etc. We'd especially like your opinions on:

- What temperature is the best for small and growing chicks?
- When is cold too cold?
- At what age can they start going outside for short periods and
- At what age can they move outside full-time?
- When do you turn the heat lamp off?

All posters have answered well from their experience. I would like to add (if not previously mentioned) that IMO, it's very important that the chicks have PLENTY of room in the brooder. I cringe when I see folks posting pics of their brooder set ups using a rubbermaid tote and a heat lamp. It's so very easy to kill chicks with this set up. Those chicks NEED to get away from the heat, and there is not enough room in those totes for that to happen. You may check the temp in that tote one minute, and it will be 90*, an hour later it could climb to 110*. I've seen it happen. Luckily, I caught it in time. This was in the early brooding days for me. Now, I only use heating pads. And, it's so easy to just get a big cardboard box, and set that up. Eco friendly (compostable). Chicks stay inside only until they are stabilized (24 hours unless there are medical issues), then they, and their HP go outside.

What temperature is the best for small and growing chicks? MHP. They self regulate.
When is cold too cold? I would not hatch chicks before April. Have seen chicks leave MHP for a snack, and get confused and start pig piling in a corner instead of going back to MHP.
At what age can they start going outside for short periods. I take them out for play in the grass/green house at 48 hours, weather permitting. Gives them their first exposure to beneficial bacteria/fungi, and pathogens also. First grit, first greens, first bugs. If weather not condusive, I bring the benefits to them in the form of a dish of soil or plug of sod from my yard.
At what age can they move outside full-time? 48 hours w/MHP.
When do you turn the heat lamp off? Have not used a lamp for 2 seasons. Will never use one again, unless I am brooding A LOT of chicks. If that becomes an issue, I think I'd make an Ohio brooder, or something similar. My chicks often wean from MHP at 3 weeks.

Sumi, good idea for ? of the week. Keep it up. Might I suggest next topic: When and how do you integrate chicks into an adult flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I realize that my former answer may not be very helpful to people that will brood in the house. While my personal preference is to brood outside, for their own legitimate reasons many people will be brooding in their house. I’ll try to respond to that situation specifically. The topic relates to heat so I’ll try to stick to that and not ramble off-topic too much.

I do not believe anyone is being cruel to their chicks or mistreating them if they stick to the often quoted 90 to 95 degrees the first week and drop it 5 degrees every week. People with no experience need a place to start. While chicks can handle lower and higher temperatures (though higher can become dangerous. Heat kills more chickens than cold. Be very careful about going higher.), if you follow that schedule precisely you will not have any temperature problems. If you follow that 90 to 95 and drop by five you will not overheat your chicks nor will you chill them. I think they do better in a variety of temperatures but you are not mistreating them if you don’t vary the temperatures for them. As I said earlier, I have had broody hens raise their chicks in temperatures warmer and cooler than the recommended. They do fine.

As LG said, be careful not to overheat the brooder, which is easy to do in a small brooder like a tote or aquarium. A huge number of chicks are raised each year in totes and aquariums, it can be done because it is being done.

In your house you really don’t need much of a draft guard. You should not have any breezes whistling through your climate controlled house. If you brood outside a draft guard may be pretty important. Brooding in an attached garage can be a compromise, neither totally outside not totally inside. Just adjust accordingly.

There are different ways you can regulate temperature in a brooder, depending on your heat source. If you are using a heat lamp or something similar, you can raise or lower it. You can use a different wattage bulb. Or maybe use a dimmer switch to regulate current. Other heat sources may come with their own built-in regulator.

Increasing ventilation can help keep the heat from building up. I’m a firm believer in good ventilation. Putting barriers like walls in a brooder can help give cooler sheltered spots away from the direct heat.

I never use a thermometer but for someone starting out a thermometer can be a big confidence booster. Put it where the chick will be about the height of the chick’s back. That way you will see what the chick is experiencing. By far, your best thermometer is your chicks. Let them tell you if they are happy or not. Even in your house, by building a brooder big enough so you can heat one end and let the far end drop to room temperature you take all the worry and stress about keeping a brooder some perfect temperature away. It just makes the entire process so much easier for you and safer for the chicks.

 

[sumi]

Sumi, good idea for ? of the week. Keep it up. Might I suggest next topic: When and how do you integrate chicks into an adult flock.

Thank you! The chick integration question/topic is on our to-do list. We'll do that one soon-soon, maybe this Sunday..

 

[sjturner79]

I realize that my former answer may not be very helpful to people that will brood in the house. While my personal preference is to brood outside, for their own legitimate reasons many people will be brooding in their house. I’ll try to respond to that situation specifically. The topic relates to heat so I’ll try to stick to that and not ramble off-topic too much.

I do not believe anyone is being cruel to their chicks or mistreating them if they stick to the often quoted 90 to 95 degrees the first week and drop it 5 degrees every week. People with no experience need a place to start. While chicks can handle lower and higher temperatures (though higher can become dangerous. Heat kills more chickens than cold. Be very careful about going higher.), if you follow that schedule precisely you will not have any temperature problems. If you follow that 90 to 95 and drop by five you will not overheat your chicks nor will you chill them. I think they do better in a variety of temperatures but you are not mistreating them if you don’t vary the temperatures for them. As I said earlier, I have had broody hens raise their chicks in temperatures warmer and cooler than the recommended. They do fine.

As LG said, be careful not to overheat the brooder, which is easy to do in a small brooder like a tote or aquarium. A huge number of chicks are raised each year in totes and aquariums, it can be done because it is being done.

In your house you really don’t need much of a draft guard. You should not have any breezes whistling through your climate controlled house. If you brood outside a draft guard may be pretty important. Brooding in an attached garage can be a compromise, neither totally outside not totally inside. Just adjust accordingly.

There are different ways you can regulate temperature in a brooder, depending on your heat source. If you are using a heat lamp or something similar, you can raise or lower it. You can use a different wattage bulb. Or maybe use a dimmer switch to regulate current. Other heat sources may come with their own built-in regulator.

Increasing ventilation can help keep the heat from building up. I’m a firm believer in good ventilation. Putting barriers like walls in a brooder can help give cooler sheltered spots away from the direct heat.

I never use a thermometer but for someone starting out a thermometer can be a big confidence booster. Put it where the chick will be about the height of the chick’s back. That way you will see what the chick is experiencing. By far, your best thermometer is your chicks. Let them tell you if they are happy or not. Even in your house, by building a brooder big enough so you can heat one end and let the far end drop to room temperature you take all the worry and stress about keeping a brooder some perfect temperature away. It just makes the entire process so much easier for you and safer for the chicks.

Another idea for indoor brooding is my own setup , which is a large rabbit hutch for the brooder, towel over the lamp end to hold the heat, and a reptile thermostat control on the heat lamp to prevent overheating.

 

[henmionegranger]

This is a wonderful thread, so much info I'm subbing

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

- What temperature is the best for small and growing chicks? I start out at around 85°F for day old chicks and I only use heat at night since they're outside and we're in Florida. During the day we don't need a heat source even for day old chicks.
- When is cold too cold? When they huddle up together and get noisy they are to cold.
- At what age can they start going outside for short periods and
At what age can they move outside full-time? they're outside full time from day 1.
- When do you turn the heat lamp off? During the day from day one. I take the heat lamp away at 2 1/2 - 3 weeks. I slowly wean them off once they hit 2 weeks old.