Hi Shaun(posted 9641 days ago)Let me just tell you what we've done here. When we have brought home chicks, we have put them in a big circle of cardboard, inside of a metal rabbit cage (the kind that has the pull out tray). We put newspapers down, covered with some shredded newspaper. Then we positioned a heat lamp above them, first inside the cage, and gradually over a week or so until it was above the cage. We put a tiny chick waterer and a chick feeder in with them (you said you did your homework so this has got to be familiar). You can tell if the chicks are too hot if they go as far as they can from the heat source (make sure they have enough room to do that. If they are too cold they will huddle and mash all together. Did you know that if they are mail order chicks you have to teach them to drink? Just dip their little beaks in water as you put them in the cage. Hmmm, can't think of anything else, except to make sure you feed them chick starter type food, not layer mix or any cracked corn. I think there's some real fine grit for them too, not oyster shell yet. Don't just put slick newspaper in the cage as it's too slippery and hard on their legs. If their vents get all stuck, gently wash the area with a paper towel in warm water, or sometimes you kind of have to grab the dried stuff and pull it off. Ouch. My chicken info says baby poultry should start out at 90degrees F, but again, you didn't say what they were used to. Old timers used to keep them in a metal tub behind the woodstove. Just keep an eye on them, and enjoy their little peeps. Good luck