Week 3 heat

[Erin80]

I have two chicks who are just shy of 3 weeks old. One of them has a whole lot of adult feathers, seems to be maturing quickly. The other is a typical 3 week old....some feathers, but still lots of fluff. I’ve read they need heat to be around 85 degrees at this age, but they are constantly laying as far away from the heat as possible when it is set to that temp (I use a calibrated glass thermometer in the brooder). I actually turned the light right off today because they just constantly seemed too hot. It’s about 75 in our house because it’s hot out right now, and they seem so much happier without the light. I will turn it back on tonight. I guess some chicks just need less heat sooner than others? All the other chicks I’ve raised have sort of followed the guidelines.....but these two are feathering so fast.

 

[brenandmark]

My girls are 3.5 weeks old and we're having the same issue. Two (Buff Orpingtons) are really feathering out and are too hot when brooder is at "correct" temperature for their age. I've been letting them all out on warm days here (about 70) and they love it. They seem happy and healthy. I make sure the brooder lamp is on one side of their box (actually two kiddie pools zip-tied together with hardware cloth over the cut-out top one!). If they get cold, I figure they can move closer to the light. Hope that is right!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The "correct temperatures" are just a loose guideline. Better to follow what the chicks are telling you than a number in a book.

By 3 weeks my chicks would be close to coming off heat.

 

[j1lly99]

My 8 are coming up on week 3 and are outside all day. It's been in the 90's here. At night, after their 1st week, it was 80s in the coop and they weren't close to the heating pad. I'm not giving supplemental heat now. But it is toasty here. Listen to your chicks.