Do I need more heat in the coop tonight?!?!

[Stephanie8806]

I have 18 chicks and four poults in a brooder coop… age range from 2ish-3.5weeks old. This is supposed to be their first night in this outdoor brooder coop. They were out there all day and evening, outside air temp was about 60 and sunny with a cool gusty wind. None of them were under the heat plate at all. Spread out and zooming around happily.

They all fit nicely and look cozy under our large heat plate, snuggled up close. Wood shavings, floor is wood with vinyl flooring but it also has 2” foam insulation under the wood floor. No drafts. Temps are supposed to get down to about 48 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. I’m worried with the gusty winds that there may be a small draft somewhere I missed. Still air would feel safer.

Is this too cold? Should I add a super well secured heat lamp for the nights for the first week or so to warm the ambient air a touch?

Coop is 4’x5’ footprint, about 4 feet tall as well. Below is a pic of them in there today, and then a pic I just took of them under the plate. Currently about 10 degrees warmer than what’s supposed to be our coldest temp tonight.

Please let me know in case I have to bring them inside or get a heat lamp up there!!!

 

[Stephanie8806]

For reference, this is generally what I do with new baby chicks, but I put them in the coop under a mama hen. Our mama didn’t go broody in time, so we just have a heat plate. Similar nighttime weather conditions, just with a bird.

Just a little paranoid since there’s more airflow under a heat plate then under a hen.

 

[rosemarythyme]

No, I'd just leave it with the plate. A heat lamp in such a small area is going to warm it up way more than "just a touch" unless you have a very low wattage bulb in it.

 

[redinator]

I have 18 chicks and four poults in a brooder coop… age range from 2ish-3.5weeks old. This is supposed to be their first night in this outdoor brooder coop. They were out there all day and evening, outside air temp was about 60 and sunny with a cool gusty wind. None of them were under the heat plate at all. Spread out and zooming around happily.

They all fit nicely and look cozy under our large heat plate, snuggled up close. Wood shavings, floor is wood with vinyl flooring but it also has 2” foam insulation under the wood floor. No drafts. Temps are supposed to get down to about 48 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. I’m worried with the gusty winds that there may be a small draft somewhere I missed. Still air would feel safer.

Is this too cold? Should I add a super well secured heat lamp for the nights for the first week or so to warm the ambient air a touch?

Coop is 4’x5’ footprint, about 4 feet tall as well. Below is a pic of them in there today, and then a pic I just took of them under the plate. Currently about 10 degrees warmer than what’s supposed to be our coldest temp tonight.

Please let me know in case I have to bring them inside or get a heat lamp up there!!!

Are you asking if they need the lamp in addition to the brooder plate, or instead of the brooder? I prefer brooder plates since they much safer than heat lamps from what I've been told.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Are you asking if they need the lamp in addition to the brooder plate, or instead of the brooder? I prefer brooder plates since they much safer than heat lamps from what I've been told.

No, I’m asking if I need it in addition to the heat plate. Heat plate is my go to for sure for that reason. I have a heat lamp for backup or struggling chick quarantine, but rarely use it.

 

[Stephanie8806]

No, I'd just leave it with the plate. A heat lamp in such a small area is going to warm it up way more than "just a touch" unless you have a very low wattage bulb in it.

I have a standard red bulb, but I also have one of the black ceramic reptile bulbs I could put in(if I can find where I put that ). Not sure on the wattage difference

 

[redinator]

No, I’m asking if I need it in addition to the heat plate. Heat plate is my go to for sure for that reason. I have a heat lamp for backup or struggling chick quarantine, but rarely use it.

Then I'd stick with the brooder plate as @rosemarythyme mentioned. With 18 they'll be snug and warm, if the chicks on the edge get chilled they'll worm their way to the middle of the huddle.

 

[redinator]

I have a standard red bulb, but I also have one of the black ceramic reptile bulbs I could put in(if I can find where I put that ). Not sure on the wattage difference

I had one those ceramic ones and didn't like that I couldn't tell if it was on or not. I burnt my hand on it a few times before I wised up and tossed it.

 

[Stephanie8806]

I had one those ceramic ones and didn't like that I couldn't tell if it was on or not. I burnt my hand on it a few times before I wised up and tossed it.

Oh man, sorry that happened! I used them my first year after reading that studies suggested that the constant red light from a standard bulb increased aggression in birds. I loved the black bulbs and if I’m being honest, that was my friendliest batch of chicks. All of my subsequent batches have been raised by a broody though, so I was more hands off anyway.

 

[redinator]

Oh man, sorry that happened! I used them my first year after reading that studies suggested that the constant red light from a standard bulb increased aggression in birds. I loved the black bulbs and if I’m being honest, that was my friendliest batch of chicks. All of my subsequent batches have been raised by a broody though, so I was more hands off anyway.

It wasn't bad, just a touch . . . I was being absent minded at 4am checking on perfectly content chicks . . .. until I swore after hitting the bulb, then I had to wait for them to settle back down before I could go back to bed, lol.

I tried it because I didn't like the glow of the red bulb. It drove me nuts. I was brooding in my bedroom since I have dogs I didn't want them bugging the chicks while I was asleep. I had a white light for day time and the ceramic one at night.