First Time Chicks

[MickChicks24]

Hello!

I just joined this group, I am located in Idaho and will be getting chicks the beginning of April. I was planning on having a brooder set up in my uninsulated garage with a heat lamp (taking precautions with it) but after reading threads about temps I am a bit worried. Evening temps can get down to 35-40 degrees here in April. Do I need to start the chicks in my house for a week or so or will they be okay with the heat lamp? I am worried about them being in the house as I have 2 cats and a 6 month old puppy (the brooder has a hardwire lid) but I don't want them to get jostled.

I have also read conflicting ideas about when to start giving chicks grit, does anyone have information about this?

 

[Faithjo]

I have some cats in my house but I have the chicks locked away in a room, I am afraid to leave mine outside in an unheated room right now. They should be kept around 95 degrees the first week of their life. I feel that it would be difficult to maintain a safe temp for them at that cold, but I don’t imagine it would be impossible. Just a lot of checking in and monitoring temps, adjusting your heat lamp accordingly. I don’t have any experience with grit, I try to feed mine food that does not require grit until they can be put outside to scratch and pick in the dirt.

 

[Faithjo]

A brooder plate might be a better option if you find one that can maintain a safe temperature through the evening and night. I just bought my first one today so I’m not sure yet if I like it as much as heat lamps

 

[rosemarythyme]

Evening temps can get down to 35-40 degrees here in April. Do I need to start the chicks in my house for a week or so or will they be okay with the heat lamp?

Only you can answer that. Get everything set up and run the heat lamp, and then get a temperature measurement in the hottest part of the brooder as well as the coolest part, and return with that info.

The entire brooder should NOT be kept at one temperature. You want both a warm and cool area inside the brooder.

I have also read conflicting ideas about when to start giving chicks grit, does anyone have information about this?

I give grit immediately, just as a mother hen would allow her chicks to pick it up on the ground outside. Even if chicks are indoors and only fed starter they can still peck and pick up things like bedding, so grit helps them break it down.

 

[MickChicks24]

Only you can answer that. Get everything set up and run the heat lamp, and then get a temperature measurement in the hottest part of the brooder as well as the coolest part, and return with that info.

The entire brooder should NOT be kept at one temperature. You want both a warm and cool area inside the brooder.

I give grit immediately, just as a mother hen would allow her chicks to pick it up on the ground outside. Even if chicks are indoors and only fed starter they can still peck and pick up things like bedding, so grit helps them break it down.

Thank you, that makes sense. I was planning on only having the lamp on one side and making sure to keep their food and water away from the heat. I do have roosting bars for them, should I put those in the middle so they have the option to choose warmer or colder or do chicks tend to want to sleep under the lamp once they are using the roost?

That makes sense about the grit!

 

[MickChicks24]

I have some cats in my house but I have the chicks locked away in a room, I am afraid to leave mine outside in an unheated room right now. They should be kept around 95 degrees the first week of their life. I feel that it would be difficult to maintain a safe temp for them at that cold, but I don’t imagine it would be impossible. Just a lot of checking in and monitoring temps, adjusting your heat lamp accordingly. I don’t have any experience with grit, I try to feed mine food that does not require grit until they can be put outside to scratch and pick in the dirt.

I definitely plan to monitor them frequently and I have a thermometer to continue reading the temp. I purchased a 125 w light but if needed I can bump up go a 250 w and I have a hanging device for the lamp that will put it above my wire lid so I can change the height as needed.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm w/ @rosemarythyme on this, great advice above. I happen to prefer heat plates, but have successfully used both heat plate and heat lamps in my unheated barn - which is much like your unheated garage.

Just don't tell county zoning i have power in said barn!

(I did go to a black ceramic heat bulb from the thinner red bulbs. Not as much risk of breakage, though I felt that the heat output wasn't quite the same, either, regardless of identical wattage. If you swap one for the other, recheck all your temperatures, adjust height as needed)

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

If your garage is uninsulated like you said above, you cannot keep the chicks in there. Chicks need to to be in a draft free area until they are fully feathered. I suggest keeping them in a basement or spare room (if that's possible for you) that is warm and draft free. We too have cats in our house, but when we have chicks we either lock them out of that area or put a wire lid on the top of the brooder just as you were thinking.

I have never given any of my chicks grit before, because you shouldn't give them any treats before they are 8 weeks of age anyway. If you take them outside for "play time" they will likely find grit out there.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If your garage is uninsulated like you said above, you cannot keep the chicks in there. Chicks need to to be in a draft free area until they are fully feathered. I suggest keeping them in a basement or spare room (if that's possible for you) that is warm and draft free.

If the OP said "carport" I'd agree with you - but a garage can (and should) be draft free, just like a basement or the interior of a home.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I do have roosting bars for them, should I put those in the middle so they have the option to choose warmer or colder or do chicks tend to want to sleep under the lamp once they are using the roost?

By the time they actually want to use a roost for sleeping on (not just for play) they'll be off heat or very close to it, so you should be able to place the roost wherever you want.

I used to do "training" roosts but turns out it doesn't seem to make them roost any sooner, so I no longer bother.