Brooding Temperature & A Warm, Stepped Schedule for Chicks
Warms broilers
Day-old chicks need 32–35 °C, then about 3 °C less each week down to a 21 °C floor — enter the start temperature and the weeks to get a week-by-week brooder heat table.
Set the brooder schedule
Next: start at 35°C under the brooder and ease down ~3°C each week to 23°C — but always let chick behaviour, not the thermometer, be the final call.
Floor temperature never drops below 21°C in this schedule. Watch the chicks: huddling under the heat = too cold; panting at the edges = too hot; evenly spread = just right.
Brooding temperature — key facts
- Week 1 start
- ≈ 32–35 °C
- Step-down
- ≈ 3 °C per week
- Formula
- start − 3 × (week − 1)
- Comfort floor
- 21 °C (≈ 70 °F)
- Brooding length
- ≈ 3–6 weeks
- Too cold sign
- chicks huddle under heat
- Too hot sign
- chicks scatter to edges
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Get the heat right and the chicks raise themselves
A day-old chick cannot warm itself, so the brooder is its mother hen for the first few weeks. Start warm — around 32–35 °C — and lower the heat gradually as feathers grow in, dropping about 3 °C each week until the birds are comfortable at ordinary room temperature. Get this curve wrong and chicks chill, crowd, smother or grow slowly; get it right and they spread out, feed well and thrive.
This tool turns a start temperature and a brooding length into a clear week-by-week table, applying the standard start − 3 × (week − 1) step-down with a 21 °C floor. Use it to plan lamp wattage, brood length and the day you withdraw heat. Pair it with the Feeder & Drinker Space and Cost of Gain tools to plan the whole brood.
Plan the whole brood
One target temperature for every week at a glance.
Avoid chilling losses
Keep day-olds warm enough to spread and feed.
Know when to stop
See the week the schedule reaches the 21 °C floor.
Works any species
Set the start to suit chicks, ducklings or poults.
Frequently Asked Questions
What temperature should day-old chicks be kept at?+
Day-old chicks need a brooder around 32–35 °C in their first week, because they cannot yet regulate their own body heat. Enter that figure as the start temperature and the tool sets week 1 to it, then steps down from there. If chicks huddle under the heat they are cold; if they scatter to the edges they are too warm.
How does the weekly step-down work?+
The schedule drops the brooder temperature by about 3 °C each week, so week 2 is start − 3, week 3 is start − 6, and so on. The formula is tempC = start − 3 × (week − 1), floored at 21 °C. From a 35 °C start that gives roughly 35, 32, 29, 26, 23 °C across the first five weeks.
Why does the schedule never go below 21 °C?+
21 °C (about 70 °F) is the comfortable ambient temperature growing birds thrive at once they are fully feathered, so the calculator clamps the schedule at that floor. Pushing the brooder colder than that risks chilling, slower growth and crowding. Once the table reaches 21 °C the heat can usually be withdrawn entirely.
How many weeks of brooding do chicks need?+
Most chicks are brooded for 3–6 weeks depending on breed, season and house temperature; broilers often come off heat by week 3–4 and layers a little later. Enter the number of weeks you plan to brood and the tool returns one row per week. Cold weather may extend the period.
How do I read the chicks instead of the thermometer?+
Chick behaviour is the real check. Evenly spread, active and feeding chicks mean the heat is right; a tight huddle directly under the lamp means too cold; birds pressed against the far walls panting means too hot; all bunched to one side means a draught. Adjust the lamp height or wattage to match the schedule.
Does the schedule differ for Celsius and Fahrenheit?+
The engine works in Celsius with a 35 °C typical start and a 21 °C floor. As a Fahrenheit guide that is roughly a 95 °F start dropping about 5 °F per week to a 70 °F floor. Convert your thermometer or set the start to match whichever scale your brooder reads.
What heat source should I use?+
Infra-red heat lamps, gas brooders, electric hover brooders or radiant panels all work — what matters is hitting the schedule temperature at chick level, measured just above the litter where the birds actually live. Raise or lower the source to fine-tune. Always provide a cooler zone so chicks can move away from the heat.
Is the schedule a hard rule or a guide?+
It is a sound planning guide built from standard poultry-brooding practice, but house insulation, outside weather, stocking density and breed all shift the real need. Use the table as your target and let chick behaviour fine-tune it day to day. Re-run it if you change the start temperature or brooding length.