Power outage! Chicks that just hatched today, and incubating eggs that have 4 more days, and chicks 2 weeks to 2 months old!

[Kariann]

Power will likely be out for awhile. How to I keep all of these guys warm enough?? Help!

 

[FeatherTay]

Power will likely be out for awhile. How to I keep all of these guys warm enough?? Help!

Do you have hand heating pads? Lots of blankets.

 

[NatJ]

Power will likely be out for awhile. How to I keep all of these guys warm enough?? Help!

Do you have access to a generator?
Or are you able to take them to someone else's house that has power?

If not, start by adding blankets or a winter coat to the incubator, to try to keep in whatever heat it still has. Of course you'll still need to allow some ventilation, and it's really good if you have a thermometer in the incubator that you can read without having to open up the incubator.

Chicks that just hatched can stay in the incubator for a day or two.

You might be able to heat the incubator with heat packs, hand warmers, a container of hot water, or something of the sort. (It depends on what you have available.) You do not want to put something inside that actually burns (like a lantern), because the smoke would be bad for the chicks and eggs.

The incubator is probably more of an issue than the older chicks, because chicks can run toward a heat source and away from it to regulate their own temperature, while the eggs just sit there at whatever temperature the incubator is.


For the older chicks, the ones at two months old should be fine with no heat (unless you're having a blizzard or something similar).
Most ages of chicks can stay warmer by huddling together, and warmer yet if you give them something like a box to huddle into. (Cardboard box can work).
Depending on how many chicks of each age, and what temperature you have, even the two week old ones might be fine huddling together.

If you need to add heat for chicks, maybe something like a jar of hot water that they can move near, or one of the heat packs like people use for shipping things.

If the weather outdoors is cold or windy, then bringing some of the chicks into the house might help (because the house is not windy, and usually stays a little warmer than outdoors.)

But if outdoors is hot during the day, then maybe you can arrange for the chicks to have access to sunny areas and shady areas, and let them huddle at night.

I don't know what you have available that makes heat, but you might be able to heat water on a wood stove, or a backyard grill, or a campfire, or over a camping stove, or even by sitting jars of water in the sun. You don't want the chicks wet, but a jar of water will stay warm for a bit, and a big bucket of water will stay warm for longer-- just be sure it's closed up so the chicks cannot get inside!

 

[FeatherTay]

Do you have access to a generator?
Or are you able to take them to someone else's house that has power?

If not, start by adding blankets or a winter coat to the incubator, to try to keep in whatever heat it still has. Of course you'll still need to allow some ventilation, and it's really good if you have a thermometer in the incubator that you can read without having to open up the incubator.

Chicks that just hatched can stay in the incubator for a day or two.

You might be able to heat the incubator with heat packs, hand warmers, a container of hot water, or something of the sort. (It depends on what you have available.) You do not want to put something inside that actually burns (like a lantern), because the smoke would be bad for the chicks and eggs.

The incubator is probably more of an issue than the older chicks, because chicks can run toward a heat source and away from it to regulate their own temperature, while the eggs just sit there at whatever temperature the incubator is.


For the older chicks, the ones at two months old should be fine with no heat (unless you're having a blizzard or something similar).
Most ages of chicks can stay warmer by huddling together, and warmer yet if you give them something like a box to huddle into. (Cardboard box can work).
Depending on how many chicks of each age, and what temperature you have, even the two week old ones might be fine huddling together.

If you need to add heat for chicks, maybe something like a jar of hot water that they can move near, or one of the heat packs like people use for shipping things.

If the weather outdoors is cold or windy, then bringing some of the chicks into the house might help (because the house is not windy, and usually stays a little warmer than outdoors.)

But if outdoors is hot during the day, then maybe you can arrange for the chicks to have access to sunny areas and shady areas, and let them huddle at night.

I don't know what you have available that makes heat, but you might be able to heat water on a wood stove, or a backyard grill, or a campfire, or over a camping stove, or even by sitting jars of water in the sun. You don't want the chicks wet, but a jar of water will stay warm for a bit, and a big bucket of water will stay warm for longer-- just be sure it's closed up so the chicks cannot get inside!

Yes! @NatJ for the win. I love the details!

 

[Lizzy733]

Do you have a gas element for heating water? You will still be able to get hot water out of the tap for a bit and covered hot water bottles are the best.

We had a power outage once where I had to sleep with one of my lizards and a hot water bottle to keep her warm enough.

Make sure to wrap up and insulate the brooder as quickly as possible.

 

[Adil_Ali]

Power will likely be out for awhile. How to I keep all of these guys warm enough?? Help!

The best thing to do, is take milk jugs, or ziploc bags, pour warm water in them, and keep it in the brooder, a water bottle works as well. make sure it wont leak though