Temperature complications

[TinyRaptorDodos]

So this year I’m doing outside chicks only, no indoor chicks from now on due to the dust and noise that and I want them to have fresh air and sun. But the issue is I’m in Alaska and have MAJOR chick fever, if I start a hatch now they’ll hatch beginning of April I believe which should be about 40f-50f(4.44c-10c)if I remember correctly. Will they be alright in that with of course a heat lamp and protection from the wind?

Picture of the brooder, it’s currently being fixed up (getting actual flooring and fixing up the walls because my broody hens chick nearly scalped herself on it last year) and the snow should be melted or at least mostly melted by April (hard to tell, could be a false spring)

 

[rosemarythyme]

As long as you can provide a spot that's hot enough for them to warm up and block off drafts, no reason you can't do it.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

As long as you can provide a spot that's hot enough for them to warm up and block off drafts, no reason you can't do it.

Okay thank you!! I was not sure if the air would drown out the heat or not. I have a little doll house and am going to add greenhouse like plastic to pull over the brooder when it’s windy

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Will they be alright in that with of course a heat lamp and protection from the wind?

Adjust your heat lamp to the right height and don't have to many chicks than can fit in the goldie locks zone for sleeping sprawled not piled. Behavior is the best indicator.. those 250W bulbs are too hot for indoors anyways. Red is a better choice than white. Those infrared ones are more challenging to work with and don't get as warm in my experience...

But basically yes, I think you can do it.

Happy hatching!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Okay thank you!! I was not sure if the air would drown out the heat or not. I have a little doll house and am going to add greenhouse like plastic to pull over the brooder when it’s windy

They're fine with 40F as ambient temperatures, so the key is making sure that the warm area can be kept at roughly 90-95F for 0-1 week olds.

For wind I use greenhouse panels that I lean up against the brooder at an angle - keeps wind and rain out, but still allows ample air flow under the panel.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Adjust your heat lamp to the right height and don't have to many chicks than can fit in the goldie locks zone for sleeping sprawled not piled. Behavior is the best indicator.. those 250W bulbs are too hot for indoors anyways. Red is a better choice than white. Those infrared ones are more challenging to work with and don't get as warm in my experience...

But basically yes, I think you can do it.

Happy hatching!

oh I forgot to mention that! The lamp we have is a bulb made for chicks it’s like.. cement or something and heats up to normal chick temperature then lowers as time passed (as the chicks age)
I don’t agree with making my chicks have light 24/7 so we went to Walmart and found that

Thank you!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

t’s like.. cement or something and heats up to normal chick temperature then lowers as time passed (as the chicks age)

I'm thinking stone is another word for ceramic which is what I meant by infrared.

I never heard of anything that lowers it's own temperature prior to now and nor would I be likely to trust it's judgement.. but my curiosity is piqued.. do you have a link?

The 24 hour light thing verses real darkness really makes a huge difference in my experience.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I'm thinking stone is another word for ceramic which is what I meant by infrared.

I never heard of anything that lowers it's own temperature prior to now and nor would I be likely to trust it's judgement.. but my curiosity is piqued.. do you have a link?

The 24 hour light thing verses real darkness really makes a huge difference in my experience.

I honestly had no clue what that infrared meant that! Ceramic is basically a more fragile stone yeah.

I’ll try to find it, I know it’s at Walmart and there are chickens on the box but I can’t remember the name. I’m going to check on the Walmart website

What do you mean the last part? Sorry my brain is odd, doesn’t process words the best… if you mean 24 hour light is better over no light they will still have light don’t worry! In the day they’ll have sunlight and summer here is about 70% sunlight but I’ll also have LED lights hung up around it for when it’s darker in the spring and fall!

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I'm thinking stone is another word for ceramic which is what I meant by infrared.

I never heard of anything that lowers it's own temperature prior to now and nor would I be likely to trust it's judgement.. but my curiosity is piqued.. do you have a link?

The 24 hour light thing verses real darkness really makes a huge difference in my experience.

I’ll have to get a picture next time I go. Should be fairly soon since I need to restock on dog treats but they don’t have pictures of the boxes online so I can’t figure out which one it is

 

[rosemarythyme]

What do you mean the last part? Sorry my brain is odd, doesn’t process words the best… if you mean 24 hour light is better over no light they will still have light don’t worry! In the day they’ll have sunlight and summer here is about 70% sunlight but I’ll also have LED lights hung up around it for when it’s darker in the spring and fall!

It's better for chicks to have a day and night cycle, so heat sources that don't give off light as preferable to ones that do. But folks obviously use both to brood with. That said, with where you're at your natural day/night cycle is obviously different than what folks closer to the equator get!