Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Brooder advise needed.

I recently, today, bought our chicks. sex link, americana, production red, cali white and a barred rock. I have them in a wash tub, about 3ft diameter and 16" tall. I also have a heat lamp clamped to the side. I have this in my non sir conditioned garage, no fans, no cooler. I have a water bottle and food dish as well as bedding that I bought at the stock shop, they set me up with all this minus the tub.

My question is Im worried they'll get too hot and get cooked. They moved behind the water and feed bottles so I raised the heat lamp so its not directly on them or pointed directly into their area. 

I will send in a pic in a few. Any help is appreciated as far as what to use as a brooder, temp and everything else we need to know in Phoenix.

Thank you

you can get a temperature gauge and put it down in there with them to insure proper temperature. If they get too hot they will move away from it. You're doing the right thing by lifting it up higher.

 

[City farm]

Is the container metal? That would make it hot. You might have said it was metal, just checking on my phone. Hard to read

 

[RSerafin]

Is the container metal? That would make it hot. You might have said it was metal, just checking on my phone. Hard to read

Yes, a metal wash tub. I just checked, the sides are not hot to the touch.

 

[City farm]

Is the container metal? That would make it hot. You might have said it was metal, just checking on my phone. Hard to read

Yes, a metal wash tub. I just checked, the sides are not hot to the touch.

We used a cardboard box with paper towels on the bottom. Then put 2 or more brick's diwn to put the food & water on. that way the food and water doesn't get wasted or contaminated with debris.

 

[RSerafin]

We used a cardboard box with paper towels on the bottom. Then put 2 or more brick's diwn to put the food & water on. that way the food and water doesn't get wasted or contaminated with debris.

I'd worry about a fire with that heat lamp and a cardboard box, they get pretty hot. The people at the stock shop on TBird rd told me of several people who used cardboard boxes as well as plastic containers who ended up killing their chicks and starting a small fire. Most plastics when heated will give off a poisonous odor.

They use a large galvanized tub as does Pet club and several others so thats why we went with ours.

 

[cyborg]

I'd worry about a fire with that heat lamp and a cardboard box, they get pretty hot. The people at the stock shop on TBird rd told me of several people who used cardboard boxes as well as plastic containers who ended up killing their chicks and starting a small fire. Most plastics when heated will give off a poisonous odor.

They use a large galvanized tub as does Pet club and severrototh thats why we went with ours.  

Almost everybody uses cardboard. I recommend wood shavings in the bottom, you don't want to use any kind of paper, to preclude future leg problems. I also recommend a smaller wattage bulb. For that size tub, a regular 60 or 75 watt bulb is fine.
I personally use a large cardboard box (the bigger, the better), line the bottom and up the sides with a large plastic trash bag, put an inch or two of pine shavings in, and then a small wooden platform that raises the feeder and waterer up about 2 1/2 inches. Cover the top with hardware cloth, and lay the light on top, on the end away from the feeder and waterer.
This setup is very easy to clean out, because when you get the addiction, you WILL be using it again!
I actually have 2 large brooder boxes set up like this, and alternate them between batches of chicks.

 

[ilovepeeps]

Hi,
I was told since its so warm no heat lamp during the day and yes raise it up a little at night so they won't get to hot, getting my chicks today and feed store told me no heat during day check temp at night my chicks also in tub in garage

 

[desert bantie]

The green plant kind of looks like a wild gourd although they are usually varigated. The leaf is the right shape

 

[MagicChicken]

Brooder advise needed.

I recently, today, bought our chicks. sex link, americana, production red, cali white and a barred rock. I have them in a wash tub, about 3ft diameter and 16" tall. I also have a heat lamp clamped to the side. I have this in my non sir conditioned garage, no fans, no cooler. I have a water bottle and food dish as well as bedding that I bought at the stock shop, they set me up with all this minus the tub.

My question is Im worried they'll get too hot and get cooked. They moved behind the water and feed bottles so I raised the heat lamp so its not directly on them or pointed directly into their area.

I will send in a pic in a few. Any help is appreciated as far as what to use as a brooder, temp and everything else we need to know in Phoenix.

Thank you

Looks like you are cooking your chicks. For that washtub brooder I would use a small Ecoglow brooder on a thermostat, so the heat switches off if the brooder goes over a certain temperature. You can lower that temperature setting every few days as the chicks grow out. When the Ecoglow is off the chicks still have somewhere to hide. When it's on it's a heat source. And it won't cook the chicks.

If an Ecoglow is out of the question use a much smaller heat bulb. You can find lower-wattage heat lamps in the reptile section of most large pet stores. The chicks need room to get away from the heat, and it looks like they don't have room the way you have it set up now. If your brooder is in non-air-conditioned space it will be getting awfully hot for the chicks during the day. Tucson is going to be over 100 degrees in a couple of days. Phoenix is usually hotter.

You also need to screen the top. Those chicks will be jumping out of that brooder in no time.

I found a thermostat designed for reptiles that works pretty well. Got it several years ago and don't have any links to it, but I ordered it through Amazon at the time. It plugs into a wall outlet and you plug the brooder heat source into the thermostat. It is digital. You can set it to shut off anywhere from around 100 degrees down to 68 degrees.

Ecoglows and Sweeter Heaters claim to be designed to work inside, but they work just fine outside (when protected from weather) if the ambient temperatures are generally above 50 degrees. In the winter I have an auxiliary heat lamp on a thermostat. In warmer weather I just use the Sweeter Heater or Ecoglow, and have it shut off when the temperature in the brooder gets too warm.

Good luck with your chicks!

 

[lacymorgan]

Looks like you are cooking your chicks. For that washtub brooder I would use a small Ecoglow brooder on a thermostat, so the heat switches off if the brooder goes over a certain temperature. You can lower that temperature setting every few days as the chicks grow out. When the Ecoglow is off the chicks still have somewhere to hide. When it's on it's a heat source. And it won't cook the chicks.

If an Ecoglow is out of the question use a much smaller heat bulb. You can find lower-wattage heat lamps in the reptile section of most large pet stores. The chicks need room to get away from the heat, and it looks like they don't have room the way you have it set up now. If your brooder is in non-air-conditioned space it will be getting awfully hot for the chicks during the day. Tucson is going to be over 100 degrees in a couple of days. Phoenix is usually hotter.

You also need to screen the top. Those chicks will be jumping out of that brooder in no time.

I found a thermostat designed for reptiles that works pretty well. Got it several years ago and don't have any links to it, but I ordered it through Amazon at the time. It plugs into a wall outlet and you plug the brooder heat source into the thermostat. It is digital. You can set it to shut off anywhere from around 100 degrees down to 68 degrees.

Ecoglows and Sweeter Heaters claim to be designed to work inside, but they work just fine outside (when protected from weather) if the ambient temperatures are generally above 50 degrees. In the winter I have an auxiliary heat lamp on a thermostat. In warmer weather I just use the Sweeter Heater or Ecoglow, and have it shut off when the temperature in the brooder gets too warm.

Good luck with your chicks!

I agree use an ecoglow or sweeter heater or a much smaller heat bulb. Watch your chicks for breathing with their beaks open or holding out their fuzzy little wings they are getting to hot. You May want to add a fan or rethink where they are a garage can get really hot inside. We have our new shipped chicks in a box with an ecoglow and pine shavings. They get a fan if it is going to be too hot. Then they get moved outside in 3 weeks to an outdoor brooder with an ecoglow I will post photos of my tiered set up if I can remember to take a photo when I get home