When to remove heat lamp?

[babyratt]

Red lamp. Not sure about the inside temperature. I had them out of the box yesterday for their exercise time. They were out for a while. They were very active and didn't huddle together. I'm thinking about turning the light off today and back on tonight. They have wing feathers and the tails are growing.

 

[babyratt]

White or red light? What's the temperature inside?

I thought that I replied earlier so forgive me if this is a repeat. Red lamp. Not sure of exact temperature. Comfortable for humans. They have wing and tail feathers. They are very active outside the box during playtime. Thinking about turning the lamp off during the day and back on at night.

 

[SourRoses]

10 days is too young to remove access to a heat source for long.
I have chicks the same age brooding on my back porch in Florida. The other day the ambient afternoon temp was 95 degrees, so I turned their heat off and they were perfectly content.
The following day (yesterday) the high was only 90 degrees and they got very upset when I tried turning it off. Just to give you an idea of how small a range they are comfortable in.
If you have a larger brooder (yours looks too small, sorry) then they can self-regulate their temperature by going to the cool end and back to the warm, but in a small area there is no cool end.

 

[Tonyroo]

I always use a digital temperature gauge under there light to know for sure. That's a 40 watts appliance light bulb being used cause my ambient room air was warm. But the brooder stayed at 100F for these new chicks that hatched yesterday.

 

[Tonyroo]

I thought that I replied earlier so forgive me if this is a repeat. Red lamp. Not sure of exact temperature. Comfortable for humans. They have wing and tail feathers. They are very active outside the box during playtime. Thinking about turning the lamp off during the day and back on at night.View attachment 3124356

Your probably keeping them on the cold side. There still too young for that. They need heat available 24/7 for 3 weeks. Unless your room air is 90-95 degrees.

 

[babyratt]

Your probably keeping them on the cold side. There still too young for that. They need heat available 24/7 for 3 weeks. Unless your room air is 90-95 degrees.

I'm thinking that they're about 4 weeks. They have to move out in 2 weeks for my neighbor sanity and their safety. I'm thinking clear vinyl on the sides of the cage with the heat lamp. Any suggestions?

 

[SourRoses]

I'm thinking that they're about 4 weeks. They have to move out in 2 weeks for my neighbor sanity and their safety. I'm thinking clear vinyl on the sides of the cage with the heat lamp. Any suggestions?

Vinyl will off gas when heated. Do not use it.

The chicks pictured are not 4 weeks. They look around 2 weeks. When did you get them and how old were they then?

It seems like you are ready to be done with the brooding process. But nevertheless, chicks need what they need and trying to force a different scenario won't work.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm a lot more aggressive with reducing heat reliance, as I brood outdoors with a mama heating pad in temps ranging from 40s to 60s. Since your chicks are acting comfortable with having the heat off for periods of time, or going outside for a bit, I'd continue to do that as long as temperatures remain consistent in your area and as long as you can continue to check them regularly to ensure they're doing ok at whatever temperature they're at.

 

[affacat]

Wait for feathers. It takes awhile. They are pretty good at self regulating if you offer the heat at a safe distance as well as area away from heat. We do raise the lamp as they get larger but dont follow any strict timeline or anything, just by observation

 

[raingarden]

It costs about $2 per week to run a 40 watt bulb. Until they're fully feathered, I just give them plenty of space and a spot to get warm if they want it.