When do I decrease the temp in the brooder?

[trunkman]

I have been keeping the temp in the brooder at 90 to 95 degrees since the chicks hatched and they are now almost 4 weeks old, when do I start decreasing the temp, they are now starting to have lots of feathers so I figure they can stand lower temps. Should I slowly decrease the temperature and if so by how much for how long? Thanks for any advice...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The general rule of thumb is 90-95 degrees for the first week of life, then decrease by 5 degrees every week until fully feathered at around 5-6 weeks.

But in wintertime I leave the 100 watt light bulb on in the coop later than that- until at least 2 months.
They should always have room to get away from the heat.

Here is where I learned this:
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingChicks.html
this has good info on chicks too

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Oh- also- one way to tell what YOUR chicks require is to watch the chicks carefully.

The chicks should be not huddled under the lamp, but spread out in the brooder, "drinking and eating happily."

When they fall asleep, you usually see them in a circle around the lamp but not under it.

That is perfect.

 

[trunkman]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice, at almost 4 weeks the temp in the brooder is 80 to 85 so I'm about right for now, they don't sleep directly below the light so I guess they are ok. Thanks for the great info. By the way, this isn't my first batch of chicks, it's been a year since my last batch and I couldn't remember all the finer details. Thanks again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Week 1 - 90 to 95
Week 2 - 85 to 90
Week 3 - 80 to 85
Week 4 - 75 to 80
Week 5 - 70 to 75
Week 6 - Fully feathered out - Good to go.

In spring and summer I usually turn the heat off after about 4 weeks. It does not usually get below the low 50's at night and I have enough that they can huddle to stay warm if the want to. They huddle even when it it ridiculously hot at night. They just like to sleep in a pile. My brooder is in my coop.

I also keep one small spot at these temperatures and let the rest of the brooder be cooler. For example, when I put them in the brooder straight from the incubator, the area under the heat lamp is in the low 90's but the far corner is about 70. The first couple of days they tend to stay mostly under the lamp, but by the third day they are playing in the cooler far corners, coming back to the lamp when they need to warm up.

I would not take any chicken straight from tropical temperatures straight to below freezing temperatures, but give them a time to adjust.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice, at almost 4 weeks the temp in the brooder is 80 to 85 so I'm about right for now, they don't sleep directly below the light so I guess they are ok. Thanks for the great info. By the way, this isn't my first batch of chicks, it's been a year since my last batch and I couldn't remember all the finer details. Thanks again.

You are welcome!!!