Dog Crate brooder questions

[bethwood01]

-right there by your baby's chair, it's going to get pretty  

That area requires a twice daily hazmat suit level cleaning as it is...

 

[donrae]

 

[bethwood01]

Thanks!

 

[Marliss51]

I successfully raised 2 sets of chicks in an XL dog crate. My heat lamp was only a 100 watt reptile lamp. I put a thermometer in the back and everything went fine. Since I live in California, I was able to move my chicks outside at 3 weeks to a new coop of their own.

The last 2 are in a different coop with the same 100 watt set up. They can come & go as they want. I now have 17 new babies in the crate. It's getting colder at night, so I may have to set up a 2nd dog crate and separate them til they are older than the 3 wks my others were when they went outside.

 

[bethwood01]

I love your cat just staring at the brooders!

 

[Weehopper]

Others are right. It will heat up like an oven. Be very careful. Don't cook them. You could use a 60 watt bulb maybe.

 

[bethwood01]

Picked them up this morning!! They've been in their crate since about 8:30 pacific. So far they seem to be doing well. The back of the crate stays below 85. And they are wandering the whole crate, pecking, eating, and drinking. They don't huddle at the very front to sleep, more like 6 inches back, and they don't hang out at the back except to get food and water. I don't see the panting thing or laying spread out. I check on them about every 15 minutes or so.

 

[CeleAndShade]

Picked them up this morning!! They've been in their crate since about 8:30 pacific. So far they seem to be doing well. The back of the crate stays below 85. And they are wandering the whole crate, pecking, eating, and drinking. They don't huddle at the very front to sleep, more like 6 inches back, and they don't hang out at the back except to get food and water. I don't see the panting thing or laying spread out. I check on them about every 15 minutes or so.

How did it go? Also what breed are they? I have tiny bantams and I'm not sure if they can escape through the holes in mine.

 

[bethwood01]

It went fine. We moved them outside at about 4 weeks when their feathers came in. Weather wasn't too bad but I did put a little cardboard hotel inside their coop so they could huddle inside it for warmth if they wanted. They are 18.5 weeks old now.