When to get rid of the heat lamp

[MN Gardener]

Ok, I am a very, very newbie when it comes to chicks. We incubates some, had them under the heat lamp until this weekend. They are about 6 weeks old. We have them in a temporary enclosure ( a large dog house with chicken wire surrounding it) and hope to build a more permanent coop later. The days around here are 75 - 90 but the nights are pretty cold still (50s - low 60s). Do we need to put the heat lamp on them during the night? They go in the dog house during the day, but huddle up right outside the dog house at night. We have to put them in it ourselves and then take them out in the morning. They are small, but seem to be fully feathered. Any suggestions?

[Jay27]

I live in the same state, have 5 week old birds, and haven't had my lights on consistently for a few weeks. I turn the light on at night every now and then when it is raining and cold. I just want the birds to dry if they get wet. You should be good, but it never hurts to leave it hang... I'd just turn it off and save on the electric bill.

As a general rule, you can turn the light off when the birds have 'real feathers' - not that fluffy downy stuff. But if it is raining or windy, I'll turn the light on just incase. I usually replace my 250W red bulb with a 150W blue bulb when the birds have real feathers. Lower wattage and the chickens aren't supposed to be able to see blue light... keeps them warm without disrupting their sense of night and day.

[fishhead]

They should be fine. I would make sure they have lots of fluffy straw in the dog house. I'm near Brainerd and if I had feathered out chicks I would not have the light on except in weather like Jay mentioned.

Also, watch their behavior to see if they huddle together.

[Wisconsin Ann]

I've gotten really lax about the light. first week, they get a heat lamp and I watch them...if they are only running under it, but sleep or stay outside the circle, I raise it up more. After a couple of weeks, during the summer, they really don't need it anymore. I usually turn it off unless we get a really cold night. Feathers start coming in..they're happy.

by 4 weeks, most of them are fully feathered and ready for the world. By the time they're feathered, they don't need any extra help at all. Just keep them dry.