Please help! :)

Sumerr

Songster
7 Years
May 27, 2015
44
17
119
Iowa
I have 10 baby fluffy butts coming in the mail soon, and I want to make sure that everything is ready for them! We have a 32 gallon rubber maid tote and I'm wondering what type of light I should use? I've read about many different ones including a red brooder lamp, but what wattage do I need? 250 watts seems like so much for such a small area. We were planning on using just a plain old 75 watt incandescent bulb, but I don't want to blind them! Our set up will be in the garage. What should we do??
 
I have 10 baby fluffy butts coming in the mail soon, and I want to make sure that everything is ready for them! We have a 32 gallon rubber maid tote and I'm wondering what type of light I should use? I've read about many different ones including a red brooder lamp, but what wattage do I need? 250 watts seems like so much for such a small area. We were planning on using just a plain old 75 watt incandescent bulb, but I don't want to blind them! Our set up will be in the garage. What should we do??
The main problem folks run into with the plastic totes is that they can overheat very quickly. As you have already surmised, a 250W bulb may be too much for that style of brooder. What will be the average ambient temps in that garage location? I wouldn't worry about "blinding" them, but you don't want to cook them. That can lead to a host of problems (dehydration, stress, pasty butt, etc.) No matter what you intend to do, make sure there is an opportunity for the chicks to move out and away from the heat if they need to. Then, I would watch them and they will let you know what they want (constant loud peeping/crowding under lamp = cold; panting/pressed up as far away from lamp as can get = hot).
Personally, ever since I switched to the panels (i.e. EcoGlow), I have never looked back, but I understand if you don't want to invest in that just yet.
 
Here are some tips. You're better off measuring the space in a brooder by width and length rather that in cubic measurements since it's floor space that is most crucial. The larger space the better, especially for ten chicks.

Since the chicks haven't arrived yet, you have time to consider alternatives to the old fashioned, fraught with problems from over heating to fire, brooder and heat lamp system. Check out the "Mama-heating pad for the brooder" thread on this forum. I think you'll quickly see the benefits of this system over the brooder/heat lamp setup.

I have two-week old chicks who have been in a grow-out pen in my run with the heating pad system from day one in temperatures down in the 30s and they're thriving on all the space, being able to have natural day/night light/dark sleep patterns, and never any worry on my part with overheating or fire from heat lamp accidents.

If you already have a coop and no adult chickens to have to deal with, you can set up the heating pad system in the coop, install the chicks as soon as you get them, and never have to mess with brooding chicks in your home, with all the attending dust, noise, and fuss, not to mention worry and loss of sleep.
 
Thank you for all the help! And to answer your question, we've decided to keep them in an unused room inside the house so we can better regulate the temperature. I'm not sure what the ambient temp of the room is yet, but we'll know soon. And thanks for the heating pad link! :)
 
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So my babies arrived safely! The room they are in has an ambient temp of about 85 degrees, so I've found it pretty easy to keep it nice and warm for them! I've also set up a larger "play" area (in the same room) out of a 6 panel connecting baby gate I had. This way I can sit in there with them and it's awesome. :)
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Looks great. I wouldn't suggest keeping the newspaper in there, though. For chicks newly hatched through a week or so old, the slippery surface can cause leg issues while those little bones are still soft. Consider a different type of bedding with more traction and cushion.
 
Ok thanks! I was thinking the newspaper because that way I could keep it relatively clean while I'm sitting in there with them. They have pine shavings in their tote, but the playpen is such a large area that I don't really want to put the shavings in there. Would cardboard work? I have an endless supply, so I could still change it out easily.
 
Cardboard probably wouldn't be much better than newspaper. They need a non-skid, non-slippery surface that they won't slide on. As you watch baby chicks that are just learning to walk, they seem to lack strength in keeping their legs from spreading off to the sides, and this sometimes leads to spraddle-leg, a condition that can lead to lameness. You avoid that by giving them a surface like soft paper towels, rubber matting or puppy pads that their toe nails can grab onto. Some people go right to wood shavings as soon as they see the chicks are identifying their food and eating it properly.

Another problem people with chicks seem to have is with the heat guidelines. The misconception is that the entire environment needs to be a uniform temperature. The fact is that the surrounding environment can be any temperature, even, as was the case of my two week old chicks when I first got them, in the 30s. Chicks only need a heat source of the temperature range suitable for their age. That means that my chicks had a heating pad cave that was around 82 degrees inside while the rest of the environment they were in was from 30 degrees at night to 50 degrees during the day time. They actually spent more time running around outside in 50 degrees than they spent in their 82 degree cave. The heat guidelines specify 95 -100 degrees during the first week, and mine did excellently at 82.

Now that they're two weeks old, my chicks spend most of their time running around and very little time inside their cave during the day warming up. If you have a heat lamp, you want it no hotter directly beneath the lamp than 90 degrees. Any hotter, your chicks will be cooking.

If you keep the room where you have their brooder at 85 degrees, they could probably even get along without a heat lamp at all.

However, raising chicks in such a "hot house" environment may not be doing them any favors. It may make it harder to wean them off the heat to the natural temperature of their coop, and their feather development may be retarded as well. It's best to err in favor of it being on the cool side than keeping your chicks too hot.
 
Thanks! I never thought of that.. The temp outside right now is 68 and I could easily open a window to get a nice air flow going. It's currently 86.4 degrees in pen they're in right now and they seem to be comfy as can be just sleeping away! (Little darlings.. I love them!) Do you think that is too hot for them? In fact, how do I know if they are getting too hot?

ps- Thanks for the paper towel and puppy pad ideas! Genius!
 
I should add that the 86 degree temp is at the floor right under the lamp, so I bet the actual room temp is about 80 degrees or so.. And the pen they're in is about 4x4 ft. Also we're just using a 150 watt incandesant bulb and it's about 2 ft off the ground.
 
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