Does this mean my chicks are too hot?

[SplendidDogFeet]

Forgive the mess - this was right before their last clean. Is the fact that about half my chicks and a few of the keets are on the edge of the brooder plate an indication that I need to raise it higher? I have it angled because the chicks are Jersey Black Giants and much larger than the keets, and two of the Guinea keets are beyond tiny and seem to have a harder time staying warm. Or do I just need to move it out of the corner for more air flow? I have the air conditioner vent shut in that room, but we keep our house low seventies so I put it in the corner to minimize heat loss. Everybody eats and drinks and runs around and I haven't seen anything but clean, fuzzy butts, but this is only my third day with birds and I find all of this and the concept that a small mistake I make could kill them within hours absolutely terrifying. Thank you for any advice and for letting me join.

 

[azygous]

You could open the air conditioning vents and your chicks would be healthier for it. The reason is that baby chicks need cool spaces to shed excess body heat as well as a place to warm up and replace lost body heat. They are like snakes and lizards at this stage, moving in and out of warm and cool zones to maintain optimum body heat.

By age three weeks, they won't need as much heat because they will have grown enough feathers by then to preserve their body heat.

Think of the heat plate as a campfire for the little campers to warm up. Once they're warm, they will move away from it. By three weeks they won't use the heat at all during the day when calories from their food keeps them warm. At night they will like a little heat until about age five weeks.

I brood my baby chicks from day one outdoors in my run with nights in the 30s and the days in the 50s. They do very well with just a heating pad cave to crawl under when they need to warm up. They are running around their brooder using the heat only occasionally and it's 55F. The cold doesn't seem to bother them a bit as long as they can duck under the heat from time to time.

 

[SplendidDogFeet]

You could open the air conditioning vents and your chicks would be healthier for it. The reason is that baby chicks need cool spaces to shed excess body heat as well as a place to warm up and replace lost body heat. They are like snakes and lizards at this stage, moving in and out of warm and cool zones to maintain optimum body heat.

By age three weeks, they won't need as much heat because they will have grown enough feathers by then to preserve their body heat.

Think of the heat plate as a campfire for the little campers to warm up. Once they're warm, they will move away from it. By three weeks they won't use the heat at all during the day when calories from their food keeps them warm. At night they will like a little heat until about age five weeks.

I brood my baby chicks from day one outdoors in my run with nights in the 30s and the days in the 50s. They do very well with just a heating pad cave to crawl under when they need to warm up. They are running around their brooder using the heat only occasionally and it's 55F. The cold doesn't seem to bother them a bit as long as they can duck under the heat from time to time.

Thank you! One of the keets is so small and is constantly snuggling under my hand when they are out near the feeder and waterer, so I was worried about the room temp, but you've made me feel lots better.