How close can a heat light be to chicks?

[Tired old Rooster]

Oh you do need one more thing a comfy chair to watch your chicken TV in.

I absolutely have to get on that. Thinking a camp chair that has a cup/glass holder.

 

[DLA]

You think it will only be three............. Yeah I said that 12 chicks ago and am talking wife into more now....but you will be fine as I said they will tell you if they are to hot or cold and belive me by the end of 4-6 weeks you will want them outside(and they should be ready for it) trust that.
I put all of mine in the big coop at 4-5 weeks if they had enough feathers on them you will know ho wmuch is enough but I warn you now they are like your first child you will want to watch them every minute of the day and take an ungodly amount of pictures (which you will want to post here for us all to see) but they should be alright sounds like you have done everything right now. so Good luck and enjoy your new chicks.
Oh you do need one more thing a comfy chair to watch your chicken TV in.

P.S. I almost forgot Hello and

from the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!!! Y'ALL

You think it will only be three............. Yeah I said that 12 chicks ago and am talking wife into more now....

how true!!

 

[Tired old Rooster]

This is our brooder - I call it the baby box I guess it's about 3 1/2 feet by 4 feet and maybe 2 foot plus tall (not a real pull out the tape measure kinda gal) I actually just set the heat lamp on top and they were all good to go! They were about a week old when I brought them home and so far...knock on wood...we are 11 for 11 in the survivor department - so I guess it's part luck and part doing something right.

On top is the watch cat - she has learned to stay off the wire however!

Sounds mean - but until it happened I hadn't thought it out...she stepped on it right next to the light and it musta been hot (there is a 1/2 inch square hardware cloth wire cover on the top)! She howled and ran off to hide (I checked, no wounds, but she learned her lesson!) Now she prowls the edges and dreams of chicken dinners I am sure, but she stays off of the wire part.

Also, we have tile floors and it just has a thin wooden bottom - no issues - they move around when they need to. My sister warned me they would sleep in a pile - and they did at first - though they spread out more now. It was precious! But I would have been worried if she hadn't warned me! I guess it helps that it's by a window - in the morning I open the blinds and some wander over to the sunlight to bask in it. We have just started using the AC in the daytime and they aren't near any vents, but tend to nap under the lamp or in the sunshine if they are inside with me (I sleep in the daytime and work at night - so they do afternoon outings in the sun).

OH! I also keep the food and water on the far side away from the lamp - don't want to boil their water! More than likely you already had that figured out - but thought I would throw it in because it was a clever revelation for me They seem to self adjust as needed - first couple of days mainly under the lamp or in the sunny part and now less and less of that. No expert, but figured I could share what I had learned. Good luck!

Hot wire was good training for kitty. Hope she associates it with drooling over tasty little chooks in future.

 

[drangle]

in the summer a normal lightbulb will probably be enough. with no draft they can generate a lot of the heat they need themselves by packing together in a corner. Chicks are tougher than you would think! just watch them the first few hours, you will be able to tell if they are too cold.