What's the lowest temp month old chicks can take?

[kuntrychick]

We have 4 - 1 month old chicks. I have the reflector light in there, but during the day it's been getting 68-70 and I turn it off. But, at night it's been getting down in the 50's some nights, 40's some nights and last night it got down to 36. I'm just not really sure when they need the light at this age and when they don't.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

At one month old the chicks should be at a temp of around 75 to 80 degrees at back height. A simple brooder light set up in the pen where they can stay warm would be sufficient. Chicks cannot really withstand cold until they are fully feathered. The rule of thumb is to drop the temp around the chicks 5 degrees for every week of age until minimum ambient air temperature is reached. During the day they are probably ok but watch that they are not getting chilled and wanting to huddle together.

 

[Sissy]

I have put mine out doors on the carport. in a all wire coop i also coverd
all the sides with one sidewhich i cover at might. 4-2month old silkies and 1- 3 month
old silkie and 5 -2 month old ameracaucanas and they all huddle in the corner in the deep littler
which i added stall dry.I also have 2 very small boxes about 3in. x36in. and they go into them .
temps have been down to 35 last night I leave the 250 red heat lamp on 24/7
andthe coop goes to 55-70and are doing fine , they have been out for a month.

 

[kuntrychick]

Quote:
I've seen "red heat lamp" a lot. Is there a particular reason to use a red heat lamp vs. a regular heat lamp? A regular bulb isn't enough?

 

[Tala]

a red lamp is more calming because it's easier to sleep under
also you can't see red spots under a red lamp, so if there is any pecking while establishing the pecking order the others hopefully won't be drawn to pecking at an injured spot and potentially killing the chick.

Wattage is what determines the heat. No difference in a 85 watt red bulb or white bulb as far as heat goes.

 

[moduckman]

It is not necessarily the temp, but whether you can keep drafts off them. You'd be amazed how cold a chick at a month old can take, but what gets them is cool drafts.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Mine were fully feathered at four weeks and went outside full time at that time, with no supplemental heat. We had a cold spell in October so their first few days outside were pretty cold but I never once saw them huddled together - they were always out and about, peeping happily at all the possibilities for grazing and bug-catching. At night they went in the coop. The coop is neither insulated nor heated, but is draft free. Due to integration, the little chicks stayed in a cat carrier in the coop to begin with, so the older girls could see and hear and talk to them but not kill them. In their first week outside, the temps got down in the 30's, cold enough to leave a frost on the grass. The chicks never seemed to miss a beat. Every morning, they exploded from the carrier to get on with the day (DH got a kick out of watching them come flying out in the mornings). In short, they seemed to not only survive the low temps but thrive on them.

 

[txchickie]

Quote:
So true! My broody has her 2.5 week old chicks out in the run EVERY single morning when I go out to feed and rarely is it over 30 degrees!

Now hand raised chicks are much different, but if they are out of the wind they are much hardier than we give them credit for.

 

[kuntrychick]

My DH said I'm worrying too much about them. Right now they have a regular bulb, but I turn it off during the day when it gets warm. I thought they needed a heat lamp as well...and that would be 2 bulbs in case one of them went out too.

On the red bulbs, do you just use a regular red bulb or a red heat lamp like 250w bulb?

 

[teach1rusl]

You can get different wattages of the red heat lamp bulbs. When I first put my chicks out I used a 250W in their coop. But now I use a 150W, and they sell 100W bulbs too. Just make certain your reflector is rated appropriately to avoid possible fires. The 250s you can get about anywhere (Lowes/Home Depot/Tractor Supply). But I had to go to a well stocked pet store to find the lesser wattage bulbs... 30s and 40s is pretty cold for 4 week old chicks, so make sure they have heat available.... Mine are 8 weeks, and I just unplugged the lamp last night (mine is on a timer so that it comes on each evening and goes off around 8:30), because I knew it was supposed to stay near 50 last night. I'll let them go without it again tonight. I'm trying to transition them to do without it unless it drops below freezing...