Help I got questions

[smalinowaki]

Hey everyone so I raised chickens when I was little but we had a outdoor coop growing up in a barn! Now I live in the city (I know awful) so I am starting my chicks in a tote then to the coop! How far do I want the 100w light to be from the bedding? And do I need a red light or reg. White ? There in our heated garage in the tote that’s about 50 to 60 degree F! But they don’t get reg. Daylight in there! Any advice or suggestions I am open to!! Thanks!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Do you have a coop for them?

 

[SilverBirds]

How old are they? If they are a week old, it needs to be 90F in the brooder. You lower the temp by 5F every week (until you get into the 60-70F). If they are all curled up together under the light and peeping a lot, lower it. If the are spread out, wings away from their body, panting raise it up. The light color itself does not matter it is how much heat it is giving off. I prefer heat plates over lamps. If you plan on raising chicks again, I'd get one of those but the light works fine too. Do you have your big coop yet?

 

[rwilliams296]

I brood my chicks in a large tote as well. Mine is about as deep as yours but longer. And my brooder is in my house, my office actually. I have an 'electric mother hen' on one end, Brinsea brand I believe. That is where they get most of their warmth from. My husband cut out a large portion of the tote lid and framed the opening with chicken wire. I use only a 60 watt bulb in the lamp and just place it face down on the chicken wire on the opposite end from the Brinsea. Used mainly just for lighting. Lights out when I go to bed but the Brinsea stays on 24/7 until they lose their fluff and are well feathered.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Those chicks are going to grow that tote super fast, so if the coop isn't already built, I hope you have larger brooders ready to go.

If you have a thermometer, that'd help a lot with adjusting lamp height and location. But otherwise go by chick behavior like SilverBirds mentioned. Remember chicks need both a warm and cooler area to use.

 

[smalinowaki]

How old are they? If they are a week old, it needs to be 90F in the brooder. You lower the temp by 5F every week (until you get into the 60-70F). If they are all curled up together under the light and peeping a lot, lower it. If the are spread out, wings away from their body, panting raise it up. The light color itself does not matter it is how much heat it is giving off. I prefer heat plates over lamps. If you plan on raising chicks again, I'd get one of those but the light works fine too. Do you have your big coop yet?

We don’t have the big coop yet we are ordering it because there sold out around us except the really really small ones which we don’t want. We want a good size one so they have some space.