what heat does the brooder need to be?

[jason180sx]

hi
i am getting a incubator for xmas and i got a brooder and i need to buy a thermometer and what heat does the brooder need to be

 

[jason180sx]

anyyone?

 

[teach1rusl]

The brooder itself doesn't need to be any set temp. But it's suggested that the temps under the lamp go something like: 90-95 week one, 85-90 week two, and continuing down until they're feathered out. Most suggest adjusting based on chicks behavior rather than the therm. reading. If they're huddling under the lamp, not warm enough. If they're avoiding the lamp at all costs, too hot. If they're spread out somewhere near the perimeter of the lamp's rays, ideal.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Hi Jason,

A great place to visit for questions regarding the first 60 days of a chicks life are in the Learning Center, which you can find at the top of the page. From there, check out Chickens 101. The part about the first 60 days is part way down the page. You will find brooder temps and more

 

[jason180sx]

yeah but is it 95 fahrenheit or 95 census or 95 degrees (my dad said they would be nearly cooked by then)

 

[Fred's Hens]

90F. 32C

But that temperature is merely the temp under the lamp, in the heat circle. A lamp makes a ring of very warm temps. But chicks also need room to move away from the hot spot. Room to go cool off and play. The second week and every week there after, the lamp must be raised or the wattage of the bulb reduced. By week 4 they don't want anything more than 75-80 F or 27C.

Over cooking is more dangerous. Watch the birds. If they are standing away from the hot spot, it is too hot. If they huddle within the hotspot, they're a bit too cool. Simple.

 

[azygous]

I got four new chicks this summer, and they demonstrated an extreme dislike for temperatures in excess of 80 F from the very beginning, meaning they avoided the area beneath the heat lamp from the start. I even kept raising it higher and higher, trying to please the little princesses.

By day three, I took out the 250 watt heat lamp and substituted an ordinary 100 watt lamp with a red cloth suspended beneath it to subdue the harsh light. Turned out to be all they required.

 

[Jeffross1968]

I think it depends on the size of the brooder as to how hard you have to work with the temperature. We have a brooder that was made from one of those cheap wal mart book cases that someone had out in their trash. I just pointed the light down in it, kind of in the middle, and then once a week raised it a bit. It gave them enough room to move out of the hottest part of the heat lamp if they were too warm, and the ability to get right underneath the warmest part if they felt too cold. Seems to have worked well. I think that maybe by the end of week two, maybe middle of week three, I might start lowering the wattage to a 100W bulb to increase feathering out.