Overheated chick calculations

摘要

When holding or transporting chicks, it is of utmost importance to control their body temperature within the optimal range of approximately 104-104.5°F (40.0-40.3°C). Although the ultimate check is to simply measure the body temperature of the chicks, it can be very informative to do some calculations on what happens with them, to see how the system operates and how sensitive it is. To maintain their body temperature at a certain level, chicks have to find a balance between their heat production and the heat loss. A real accurate standard for heat production of a day-old chick is not available, but an estimated heat production of 0.3 watt for a day old chick that has not yet eaten seems to be a workable average.