What temperature should a brooder be for day-old chicks?

Day-old chicks need about 95F (35C) at chick level during their first week. Each following week the target drops by roughly 5F until it reaches the ambient barn temperature, usually around 70F. Always confirm with chick behaviour, not just the thermometer.

How do I know if the temperature is actually right?

Watch the chicks. Birds huddled tightly under the heat are too cold; birds pressed to the edges and panting are too hot. Evenly spread, active, chirping chicks tell you the temperature is correct regardless of what the gauge reads.

Are broilers and layers brooded at the same temperature?

The starting target is the same near 95F, but fast-growing broilers generate more body heat and are usually weaned off supplemental heat a little sooner. Turkey poults start slightly warmer and need extra attention because they find feed and water more slowly.

When can chicks come off heat completely?

Most layer and broiler chicks are fully feathered and can leave supplemental heat around five to six weeks, once the brooder target has stepped down to match ambient temperature. In cold climates extend this; in warm climates birds may need heat for less time.

Why does the temperature drop 5 degrees each week?

Chicks hatch unable to regulate their own body heat and gradually develop feathers and metabolic control. Lowering the brooder about 5F per week matches their growing ability to stay warm and hardens them off for ambient conditions without chilling them.

Brooder Temperature Guide for Chicks

Getting brooder temperature right is the single biggest driver of first-week chick survival. This guide gives you the species-appropriate starting target and steps it down week by week using the standard rule poultry keepers have used for decades, so your birds stay evenly spread, eating, and growing.

How it works

Brooding follows a simple stepped schedule. Day-old chicks need their environment held at the temperature they would get under a hen, then cooled gradually as they feather out:

week 1 target = species start (layer/broiler 95F, poults 98F)
each later week = previous week target − 5F
floor = ambient brood-room temperature (about 70F)

The target is measured at chick level directly under the heat source, not at the ceiling. Once the stepped target reaches ambient room temperature the birds no longer need supplemental heat.

Tips and example

A flock of layer chicks starts at 95F in week one, then 90F, 85F, 80F, 75F, and 70F across the following weeks. By week six the brooder target equals room temperature and the heat lamp can come off if the birds are well feathered.

Always read the birds over the thermometer: huddling means too cold, edge-hugging and panting means too hot, and an even, busy spread means the temperature is right. Provide at least one waterer and feeder per 25 chicks, keep litter dry, and hold humidity around 50 to 60 percent to prevent dehydration and pasty vent.