Chicks off heat?

[Anonymous]

Ok, if you had 4/5week old chicks in a concrete stable atm with heat on(half lying outside heat at night), when would you move them outside/take the heat off?
I'm in Northern Ireland so about Liverpool type temperatures to give you an idea, and obv. this is for this time of year.
What'll happen if they're taken off too soon?
Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't done this before,but,I would wait until they were not sleeping under the heat lamp.once I'd turned it off permanently I would keep them in the stable and moniter them closely to check they are still thriving.

If you did accidently stop the heat to soon,they could suffer with possible health problems,they would need to eat more food,there growth/development could be affected and they could be more prone to viruses/infections.I think,not sure!

Some breeds do cope with colder temp though,also,I haven't actually raised chooks from chicks,so could be wrong on all of this.

 

[Tim]

The chicks need to be fully feathered before they go without heat completely but you need to raise the heat lamp about an inch per week to wean them off it.

If they are not settled under the lamp, lift it a few inches. If they are cold they will all be on top of one another directly under the lamp.

I think at 4/5 weeks they will still need a little while on heat but you should be lifting the lamp gradually.

Hope this helps.

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

thanks!