Another Newbie

[Barnrat]

Hi! For some years now I have wanted to raise chickens and this year I'm taking the plunge! I don't have the chicks yet, but plan to pick them up this weekend at the local Tractor Supply Co. store where they are having Chick Days. I found this site recently and already have found tons of useful information! My first stop was the thread on brooders, which I found so encouraging. I've got about 3 items in the house already that could work as a brooder! And here I was thinking I'd need a pile of special equipment.

My first question involves the location of that brooder. My housemates are adamant that it cannot be in the house or the barn, so I'm thinking the garage. My fear is that it will be too cold out there. Temps are warming up here in upstate NY, but it is still in the 40s some nights. Will 1 heat lamp be enough? What if I use a plastic rubbermaid tub for the brooder; would that help? Any advice would be welcome!

Barnrat

7 horses, 5 dogs, 6 cats, and (soon!) 6 chicks

 

[zippychickens]

I started my chicks out in a rubbermaid with 1 heat lamp in my laundry room. When they were 1 week old two of the chicks could fly out of it. So you'll need to make a screen lid for it. I moved them out to my garage and made basically the equivalant of a rabbit hutch for them.
With one heat lamp I felt that they might still get cold at night so I used a lightweight canvas to wrap around the hutch at night. You could use a couple of beach towels as well. It just helped to hold the heat in. by 3 weeks I stopped using the canvas because they were getting a lot of feathers and the weather was getting a little warmer.
Oh, if you keep them in a rubbermaid with a secure screen lid with a heat lamp, you'll actually want to make sure they don't get to hot. The plastic will really hold in the heat.

 

[ChicknThief]

!!!!


Many people here have brooded their chicks in their garage. If you are concerned about their warmth, than I would just buy a second heat lamp and station it at the opposite end of the first.

Ok, so now I am curious, what kind of babies??

Don't worry, we will get you hooked up with at least 500 more chickens by the end of the month.

 

[theOEGBman]

I always keep my chicks in the garage. They've always done well, except once when my brother left to door open and my chicks froze to death. That was during winter though, so I think you'd be ok now.