Second guessing my brooding pen / integration plans

[azygous]

Light as an attractant makes quite a bit of sense. I believe aart's right that your author's context for the three days of light is meant more for large numbers of chicks.

When I was a kid, we would occasionally visit my uncle's commercial poultry farm. He had thousands of baby chicks in huge barns, a sea of little tennis balls as far as the eye could see. We would go out with him in the morning and he would pick up hundreds of dead chicks that had been trampled and suffocated by the hoards of other chicks. Now I wonder if part of those casualties was due to the dark at night. He didn't use electric lights, but propane brooding hovers.

I use a small night light or flashlight when teaching chicks to go into the coop at night after first being moved in. It really does help. Chicks get scared of the dark and can't find their way. It probably does help new chicks learn their way around. But if you're using the heating pad system, I would just use a small night light, not a bright 250 watt flood light.

 

[WesleyBeal]

His own operation has 75 chicks to a brooder house. His work does appear to be directed at "small" producers of eggs for local markets, or that is where his experience is coming from and hence what his approaches are most applicable to.

Not to suggest he has nothing of use to say about my "small," 40 bird flock, but yes, need to filter his approach to allow for the fact that I'm not brooding multiple houses with 75 birds in each!

 

[WesleyBeal]

Got the call from the post office about 6:15 this morning.

They're using the heating pad well. They come out to eat/drink, then dash back under to get warm.

Had to pile a lot of bedding underneath so it was close enough for them to be able to press their backs against it.

Right now I have a heat lamp (securely) working above the pen also, trying to warm up the area a little. It was 40-something this morning, low 50's now. So far it's making it about 5 degrees warmer in their pen than it is outside of it. 61.5 degrees at their food at last check.

Will be warm today and tomorrow (low 60's), then cool for a while (40's - 50's daytime highs).

Hoping to keep it warmer in their pen the next couple days at least, so they don't have to spend ALL their time under the pad.

 

[aart]

Got the call from the post office about 6:15 this morning.

They're using the heating pad well. They come out to eat/drink, then dash back under to get warm.

Had to pile a lot of bedding underneath so it was close enough for them to be able to press their backs against it.

Right now I have a heat lamp (securely) working above the pen also, trying to warm up the area a little. It was 40-something this morning, low 50's now. So far it's making it about 5 degrees warmer in their pen than it is outside of it. 61.5 degrees at their food at last check.

Will be warm today and tomorrow (low 60's), then cool for a while (40's - 50's daytime highs).

Hoping to keep it warmer in their pen the next couple days at least, so they don't have to spend ALL their time under the pad.

I use heat lamp over feed/water station for the first couple days(only during the day), just to make sure they are all eating, drinking, and mobile.
After that it's not necessary...after seeing 3 day olds come out from under broody to romp around in below freezing temps, I quit worry about it.

 

[Mutleycrew35]

Quick question, we've been using a Tupperware made at home for the brooder but are quickly learning they going to outgrow it. Can we use this old play pen we have inside? If so how would/should it be modified to keep in heat? Or would the heat lamps be enough?

 

[lazy gardener]

You only need a small area in your brooder that is heated. It's not healthy for the whole brooder to be warm. The bigger issue might be them scratching all of the savings out onto the floor.

 

[Mutleycrew35]

Ok, I was worried about it not being warm enough because the sides are open but as long as they have lamp to warm themselves under they'll be fine? They're a week or so in age.

The mesh is pretty finely knitted. Thinking maybe I should add a bit of a wall around the base to keep the mess down to a minimum and perhaps some plastic tarp type material for easier cleaning.

 

[lazy gardener]

Where are you brooding them? In your house? Shed? Garage? Coop? A lot depends on that. If not in the living space of your house, you will need a bit of a draft screen around the bottom, perhaps cardboard about 12" high and zip tied to the mesh. You will also need to cover it. By the time they are 10 days to 2 weeks old, they will be able to fly out of it.

 

[Mutleycrew35]

We're brooding them in our home. Currently they are in the living room area, this is where we'd like to keep them until they're ready to go outside. We live in Florida so the weather is already extremely warm out so were running the A.C., we keep it around 75-78.

 

[3riverschick]

We're brooding them in our home. Currently they are in the living room area, this is where we'd like to keep them until they're ready to go outside. We live in Florida so the weather is already extremely warm out so were running the A.C., we keep it around 75-78.

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Okay, take a look around at all of your furniture .see that dust which covers every nook and cranny ?that's not dust, that's chick down!! you just turned your living room into a chicken coop . it can't be dusted off, it must be carefully wiped off with something little bit damp otherwise it just flies in the air and lands someplace else. every nook and cranny in your living room is covered with chick down
just get them out of your house.
Karen