1 week old chicks

[rachabe]

[/IMG]I have 6 1 week old chicks in a oval plastic bin I got at Home Depot (I just put them in it today I had them in a box before) I have a space heater going in my walk in closet set at 80 degrees and they have been fine this week that I've had them. Everywhere I've read says at 1 week should be kept at 90-95 degrees F but when I put the heat lamp on today and made it 95 degrees they just worried me it looked like they were too hot but maybe it was bc they been in the room at 80degrees F for 4 days now? Idk I'm worried about them l, this is my first time owning them. And like 3 of them have pasty butts I've been cleaning. Should I just keep the room at 80 degrees and not change it on them?

 

[chickens really]

I would keep the heat on and have the thermometer at Chick hight....You have it set up so the Chicks can move away from the heat if needed........pasty butt is caused from the Chicks getting to cold....even raise the lamp up a bit till it is at the proper temp....

Best wishes....


Cheers!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do they seem comfortable? Bunched up chicks are cold chicks, and they often peep a lot. Contented chicks are all over and eat, drink and sleep, in a fairly regular order.

I keep mine at 85-90 the first week. You could try a low wattage bulb to see if they go under it. Hang it on one end. If they go to the opposite end they are too hot. I use a thermometer to initially set the height. Let their behaviors be your guide.

 

[ladylo]

We have chicks that are a week old and it looks very scary when they sleep....and a few times I panicked when I saw it too LOL
I paid close attention about how far or close to the light they like to be... To help me gauge the temperature that's comfortable for them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would plug it in and observe them for a while, if any come and lay directly under it than I would think it's necessary. You don't need to use a red bulb, I never do, I use a 125 watt clear heat bulb, but people do use regular watt bulbs which are getting hard to find, just don't buy any with a Teflon coating on it or you will kill your birds, usually they are called shatter proof. In a week or two you ambient temperature will be enough.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you get set up right you can lower the room temperature and just use the heat lamp. Lower the temperature by 5 degrees a week by raising the lamp until the brooder temperature is the same as the ambient room temperature. So either use the bulb or the heat after the first week or two, they won't need both.

 

[chickens really]

Ok so should I keep the space heater in the room set at like 65 degrees then have the heat lamp on? Bc my walk in closet gets pretty cold or should the heat lamp be enough?

Try the heat lamp first..Chick height and remember the temp will drop over night at around 4 am....Tricky yet very easy to set...........Chicks need to be warmer..Ducklings are so easy...

As long as the brooder stays the temp it should be? No need for the space heater...

 

[aart]

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[rachabe]

Ya they peep alllllll day long and peck at the walls and floor and they're eating and drinking all day too then they sleep throughout the night. I have a red 120 v light and try to hang it above one corner really high too and the thermometer said it got to 95 degrees so I turned it off really fast bc I was scared they were going to overheat.

 

[rachabe]

Also do you think my black chicks could be getting hotter than the brown ones from the bulb? Idk if it's like the sun where it's attracted to black. Both of them seemed hotter but maybe they were really sleepy. I read that the look dead when they're sleeping so that could be it too. I'm going to try to post more pics tomorrow with the heat lamp turned back on