[Craigx]

Hey,

my 2 week old chicks are avoiding the light slightly, they only go near it to sleep, but during the day they are all over the place, i moved them into the bigger cage today, as the smaller one i didn't think was adequate enough,

Even tho they are almost fully feathered, i don't think they're ready to come off the light completely, just wanted some opinions as i know when they move away from the light it means they don't want it any more..

[ANHBUC]

They might be warm enough during the day but not overnight if they are huddling under the lamp at night. The weather has been a little warmer during the day so that might be the cause.  If you have a normal red heatlamp you can get a plug in dimmer to control the heat during the day.  These can not be used on the ceramic bulbs so you can lift the lamp higher during the day and lower it late afternoon.

They will need the heat lamp less and less over the coming weeks but usually need it to some degree for 6 weeks.  At this time of the year you may need it at night for a few more weeks depending on the weather. 

My chicks are 5 weeks old and quite feathered so they have the heat lamp on from around 5pm until 10am.  Then if it is a chilly day I leave it on.