Yikes! chicks got cold last night.

dovecanyon

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So, the brooder was at 80' when I went to bed last night at around 10pm (remote thermometer by my bed!). When I got up this morning at 6:30 it was 67'. I don't know how long the bulb was out, but the brooder is well insulated, so it must have been shortly after that to drop so low. The girls are almost 4 weeks (on Monday). Is there anything I need to worry about? Getting sick? They are back up to 75' now and climbing. They seem ok, but they were all squashed together on the roost when I got up, and looking pretty silly all fluffed out with their scraggly feathers. And they were sure cranky! Should I give them a dose of vitamins or something? Or just quit worrying like a "mother hen"? Thanks again for all the welcome advice...
 
I had the same thing happen on an occasion or 3 and I wouldn't worry too much. Get the temps back up and give them a treat or 2 today. Vitamins wouldn't hurt either. You're a good chicken mama to worry about them.
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4 weeks = 20 degrees less than starting temp -- so they weren't all that far under!

From what I hear (I got lucky, and my temps were perfect, no bulbs blew, etc, so I don't have first hand experience; keep that in mind), it's the squishing together that's most likely to do them in rather than being a little cold themselves. Like people, they don't "catch cold" from being chilled, but they can be crushed, and if their internal temperature goes too low, they can die from hypothermia.
 
Thanks everyone. They seem fine- giving me the stink-eye every time I check on them. So spoiled! I gave them some warm oatmeal, hopefully to warm them up from the inside out. I usually wake up every couple of hours and check the temp, but of course last night I slept straight through and that is when the bulb blew. I wish someone would quit sending Murphy my forwarding address! I'll give them another little treat this afternoon, and will let them out to play later when it is warm outside. Hopefully all will be forgiven by bedtime tonight. Sheesh, I don't remember worrying this much about my kids when they were babies...
 
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