Need some re assurance!

[chickmomnicole]

I'm still some what new to raising chickens. I have six 4 week old chicks currently in the house. They still have their heating lamp but with it being a hot night it's about 75 degrees in my house right now. I turned the lamp off a few hours ago and they all layed under neath it together and slept. I was worried they may have been to cold and turned it back on. I don't want them to get over heated or too cold. Should I leave it on or turn it off?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'm still some what new to raising chickens. I have six 4 week old chicks currently in the house. They still have their heating lamp but with it being a hot night it's about 75 degrees in my house right now. I turned the lamp off a few hours ago and they all layed under neath it together and slept. I was worried they may have been to cold and turned it back on. I don't want them to get over heated or too cold. Should I leave it on or turn it off?

Let the chicks guide you - if they are cold they will make it known with distressed chirruping. Likewise, they will tell you they are too hot by scattering as far from the heat source as they can get and showing signs of discomfort. As long as they are settled down together sleeping peacefully they are fine. Don't confuse the initial "bed-time ruckus" that ensues as they settle in initially with distress calling. By 4 weeks of age chicks in my brooder are being weaned, if not already weaned, off of supplemental heat.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Temp. requirements are 90-95 degrees the first week of life and decrease by 5 degrees every week until fully feathered, usually around 6 weeks of age.

They should have the ability to get away from the heat, and it is fine for the temp. under the light to be hotter than that if they have ample room to get to a cooler area (like a coop-sized space for example).

So your 4 week olds need access to 75 degree temps. Since you will be asleep for the night you may wish to consider changing the bulb to a small wattage like a 40 or 60 watt just to offer them a bit of warmth if the temps go down just a bit.

Make sure to practice fire safety. If you are unsure about how secure your light is (think flying chickens) then by all means just turn it off at 75 degrees. I secure my lights at least two ways not including the clamp with metal wire and keep it well away from flammable materials. Use only ceramic sockets, not plastic.

 

[chickmomnicole]

Thank you! I have turned the light off for now. And will keep checking on them! Makes me so nervous! Don't want to lose any!

 

[Blooie]

I guess I totally fly in the face of what's considered "ideal" for chicks, and I don't relay this story to advise you what to do, but to reassure you that these little stinkers are tougher than we give them credit for. Last year, on April 1st, mine were put out into our un-insulated, unheated, unlit coop at 5.5 weeks old. I put a heat lamp out there for them because the temps were below 20. I kept jumping out of bed to run out and check on them.....all the long night through. They were fine - cuddled up in front of the pop door and not even near the heat lamp. The second night I only went out and checked on them once. Saw the same thing - chicks on one side of the coop sleeping peacefully, heat lamp on the other side eating power and looking for a way to start a coop fire. Third day the lamp came out - it snowed that night. We got our last snowfall on June 6th. The chicks were absolutely fine. They are now healthy, strong adults providing me with lots of eggs and entertainment. Didn't lose one, didn't stress one out, didn't have a sick one. The only creature stressed out raising that group of chicks was me.

Now, I'm not saying that you should unplug everything and evict them right now. You have do do what you are comfortable doing. But I do think that they are old enough to go without the lamp, especially if they are in the house. And since it won't be long before they will be going outdoors to live, this is a good time for them to experience the natural day/night cycles they will be living with once they go out to the coop. They need to learn to prepare to roost as it starts getting dark and learn to put themselves to bed and be settled once it does get dark. Cutting the lights while they are still warm enough is a good way to do that. With mine last year, I turned the light off about 5 days before I got ready to put them outside. They fussed and cheeped as the room got naturally darker, but then suddenly - for the first time since they'd arrived at our house - I didn't hear a single sound out of them for the entire night. No nighttime cheeps, no claws against the bare spots in the brooder...just blessed silence. And they woke in the morning as the sun came up, ready to eat and be active chicks all day long. There is more to heat lamps than the warmth to think about. There is also 24 hours of "daylight", not something they would ever experience with a broody hen in the coop.

I hope this reassures you a little bit. If you've gotten these chicks to 4 weeks with no problems, you've obviously been doing something right! You've got this, too!

 

[mobe_45]

Our chicks hatched this past Sunday/Monday. I have the lamp in. Directly beneath the lamp it was a cozy 95. My chicks did not read the rules saying they needed this heat. They stay out from under it all the time. Now at 3-4 days old, they need me to reduce the heat so they aren't forced to wedge between the feeder and the side of the brooder. Yesterday, I caught one of the chicks on top of the feeder. Guess it's time to put some wire over them.

 

[mobe_45]

One week old pic. I think 2 are roos and 2 are hens. What is your opinion?