Chicken Heat Lamp Temperature

The breed of chicken.

Chicken heat lamp temperature.

Chicks need a heat source for four to six weeks. Heat lamps are the worst idea in the history of chicken care. Chickens need time to acclimate to temperature changes. Chickens are comfortable with the temperature in the teens remember they have feathers.

Baby chicks need supplemental heat a heat lamp a brinsea ecoglow or a mama hen to keep the brooder box warm for about four to six weeks depending on the outside temperatures. Where you live and the time of year you re brooding which will dictate how hot or cold the general temperature is. If you keep your birds too warm they will start to suffer from the cold when they go out. Another good reason to avoid the heat lamp is the risk of it suddenly going out without you noticing.

Chicks start out needing a higher temperature between 100 and 95 degrees but as the weeks pass lower that temperature each week by about five degrees until the. Unless securely fixed in place you run the very real risk of a coop fire from heat lamps. Some heavy breeds won t require heat for as long as smaller breeds. A baby chicks temperature is slightly lower at 103 5 f.

Chickens themselves add heat to the coop. It will rise as the chick matures until it reaches adult levels. Remember too much heat is unhealthy. Lower the temperature by making the heat lamp higher if you use one.

Most of the time chickens don t really need heat lamps anyway. A chickens core temperature normal runs between 105 107 f. Placing a 500 f surface in a confined area with highly flammable wood shavings straw feathers water and living creatures is a disaster waiting to happen. This condition is so consistently caused by continuous light that chickens can be used as an animal model for studies on glaucoma 7 8.

This condition is caused by any continuous light even that from lower wattage bulbs than the common 250 watt heat lamp bulb and is actually exacerbated by the red light of red heat lamp bulbs 6. If the heat lamp suddenly dies due to breakage or a power outage your entire flock could perish. But in barns or garages which may run 60 degrees chicks need supplementary heat until they are fully feathered at six weeks of age. Keeping chicks during summer months can be easier than winter because your house may be hotter.

Most chicken care experts will agree your average dual purpose chicken breed will do just fine without any supplemental heating as long as they have a way to stay dry and out of the wind.