Help! To cold?

[kcwall11]

Hi! I am a new chicken owner, and even with the research I’ve done I still have a lot to learn… I have my chicks inside my house with a heat lamp (not the best choice, but it’s what I had available). I’ve been cutting it off, to help prevent fires, especially when I’m not home.

With that being said - I want to know if my chicks are too cold without the heat lamp. I’ve attached a picture! They are 2-3 weeks old. Also, are starting to fly out of their current tub and I would like to transition them outside… with the supplemental heat at night soon!

 

[nuthatched]

A heat lamp with not cause fires if used properly.
You can start turning it off in the day.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What are your temperatures like in the location of the brooder?

What are temperatures outside? Is the coop finished? Do you have adult birds? If coop is done and no adults to integrate with, I'd just take them outside right now and finish brooding in the coop.

Brooders should be covered 100% of the time that you're not actively supervising. Although yours are unlikely to escape and then expire from cold, chicks can still get stuck in things, eat something toxic, get stepped on, eaten by other pets, etc.

 

[AGeese]

Hopefully you're monitoring the temps. I would just get a brooder plate instead or put the lamp on a timer that allows you multiple settings you can set during the day. But I'd probably not leave with a heat lamp running myself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I can't really respond with anything specific until you answer Rosemary's questions. It sounds like you have electricity in your coop outside so they can go out now. How to get them out is in the details. What does the coop look like?

I'm not going to bash you because of the heat lamp. I use one myself.

That brooder looks kind of small for all those chicks. I can see why you might want them outside pretty soon.

Looking forward to your answers and once again,

 

[realsis]

Hi and welcome!♡ I started with a heat lamp st first too. I got a Brensea heat plate after. I like it cause it won't burn the chicks or cause a potential fire . As for your chicks outside It would all depends on your outside night time temperature and the age of the chicks. Your chicks are beautiful by the way. If it's not too cool they usually huddle together for warmth. But if it gets say under 60 at night I would worry without a heat source for them at night. They are still pretty young so I would not take the chance without a source of heat. Hope this helps a little

 

[kcwall11]

What are your temperatures like in the location of the brooder?

What are temperatures outside? Is the coop finished? Do you have adult birds? If coop is done and no adults to integrate with, I'd just take them outside right now and finish brooding in the coop.

Brooders should be covered 100% of the time that you're not actively supervising. Although yours are unlikely to escape and then expire from cold, chicks can still get stuck in things, eat something toxic, get stepped on, eaten by other pets, etc.

What are your temperatures like in the location of the brooder?

What are temperatures outside? Is the coop finished? Do you have adult birds? If coop is done and no adults to integrate with, I'd just take them outside right now and finish brooding in the coop.

Brooders should be covered 100% of the time that you're not actively supervising. Although yours are unlikely to escape and then expire from cold, chicks can still get stuck in things, eat something toxic, get stepped on, eaten by other pets, etc.

Hi! They are inside the house, which is 70-75 degrees in the room that they are in. We do keep the heat lamp on while we are here, but I personally don’t like to leave it while we are out and about for more than a few minutes. The coop is just about done, and we have no other chickens!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hi! They are inside the house, which is 70-75 degrees in the room that they are in. We do keep the heat lamp on while we are here, but I personally don’t like to leave it while we are out and about for more than a few minutes. The coop is just about done, and we have no other chickens!

At 2-3 weeks the 70-75 should be fine without heat through the entire day. If that's a consistent temperature range inside you can kill off heat entirely next week (day and night).

Get that coop finished and get them off heat and assuming the temperatures aren't too much lower outside, they can go out permanently once they're around 4 weeks old.

 

[kcwall11]

What are your temperatures like in the location of the brooder?

What are temperatures outside? Is the coop finished? Do you have adult birds? If coop is done and no adults to integrate with, I'd just take them outside right now and finish brooding in the coop.

Brooders should be covered 100% of the time that you're not actively supervising. Although yours are unlikely to escape and then expire from cold, chicks can still get stuck in things, eat something toxic, get stepped on, eaten by other pets, etc.

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I can't really respond with anything specific until you answer Rosemary's questions. It sounds like you have electricity in your coop outside so they can go out now. How to get them out is in the details. What does the coop look like?

I'm not going to bash you because of the heat lamp. I use one myself.

That brooder looks kind of small for all those chicks. I can see why you might want them outside pretty soon.

Looking forward to your answers and once again,

Hi! They chicks are in the house right now so it’s consistently 70-75 degrees and can get quite warm with the heat lamp running. The coop is not the greatest, but is enclosed and we do plan on using the heat lamp at night. We actually just put them in a bigger tub today, because it was sorta small. Like I said I am truly a beginner and want what’s best for my ladies

 

[kcwall11]

Hi and welcome!♡ I started with a heat lamp st first too. I got a Brensea heat plate after. I like it cause it won't burn the chicks or cause a potential fire . As for your chicks outside It would all depends on your outside night time temperature and the age of the chicks. Your chicks are beautiful by the way. If it's not too cool they usually huddle together for warmth. But if it gets say under 60 at night I would worry without a heat source for them at night. They are still pretty young so I would not take the chance without a source of heat. Hope this helps a little

It does thank you!! We are planning on keeping them in the house for this week and taking them out next week. Nighttime temps are still fluctuating quite a bit, but day time is consistently 80 degrees!