best thermostat for homemade brooder boxes?

[JRivrVue]

Hi Fellow PeaFonders!!! How's that for a term to describe us that are pea crazy? I have home made brooder boxes made out of 3/4 in plywood and are 3x4 and are 3 feet deep or tall with a 1/2 " plywood top with a cut out will with small gauge wire for ventilation. (and viewing)

I am using clamp reflector lights for a heat source and use at least two per box and vary the light bulbs from 25 watt to 75 watt to increase or decrease heat. I am in Mississippi so we have ambient heat right now...upper 90s during the day. My boxes are in my well ventilated and insulated barn..not in the alleyway where there is more moving air but off to the side in the wash area that we don't use for the horses. So, the air is not moving over the boxes like it would be in the center of the barn.

I am looking to buy thermostats and a brooder heater that is more efficient than me spending the whole day changing lights and turning them on and off. I have thermometers in the boxes but this is taking my whole day and I would like to be doing something else with this time.

Before I buy one that isn't a good one, I would like to know what you guys use. My husband is pretty tolerant of my feather fetish but I don't want to go to the expense of store bought brooders. I like my wood boxes and the fact they have a lot of room to move around.

Thanks for all the help. Since I found this forum I spend all the time I can steal reading threads and posts,. YOu guys are the best.

Judy, NE MS....the ole woman who had so many feathered friends she didn't know what to do!!!

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Wafer thermostats cost about $15 and are very easy to hook up and very accurate once set.

 

[JRivrVue]

Is there a brand? Do they produce the heat as well as regulate it? I looked at brooder heat source thermostatically controlled but don't know anything about brands or types or any thing that would help me choose which would be best for my needs. I have 4 large wooden 3x4 made of plywood boxes with tops that have a cut out top with wire inlay. Thank you for the wafer info, but I need more information if you read this. best, judy

 

[frenchblackcopper]

The wafer thermostat is just that,a thermostat only. You can attach it to a heat lite,heating coil or whatever you want that will make heat.The thermostat must be at the same level your wanting the desired temperature to be,so it should be about 3" off your floor of the brooder box and protected so the chicks cannot mess with it or the wires to it. You should also buy a thermometer that has a 24" or longer probe to be able to read what the temp is under the light. This probe can be hidden under wood shavings or whatever you use for litter on the brooder box floor. The peachicks won't bother the probe. I keep my brooders about 90 degrees directly under my heat lites but my lites are not thermostaticly controlled,instead I raise or lower the lites until my temp is where I want it and there is plenty of room in my brooders for the peachicks to move away if they are too hot.

 

[JRivrVue]

Thanks, I understand better. My neighbor has a brooder box for pigeons that he isn't using rite now and offered to loan it to me. I am now trying to figure out if I can put it in one of the horse stalls and put all of my peababies in there together. They could go in the box for heat or out if they were warm and it is so hot here in Mississippi these days. I could also position a heat light still in a corner for additional warmth. I have 24 that are a little older . They started hatching May 24th and there was one week all the eggs weren't fertile. There is one cock servicing all of my hens. I had a few (maybe 3 eggs) that developed but died a few days prior to hatching. Don't have a clue about that. I think one got turned upside down during a hatch and drowned. That was sad. I had three yesterday and one the day before that and one trying to work its way out today.

People always ask how many and my answer is I don't know. Numbers change. There are probably 200 grown chickens of all flavors and close to that many have hatched out this season. I just keep changing paper and bedding and water and feed and keep on and on. The chickens are a lot easier to keep regulated for some reason. One thing, the peas seem to want to stay a lot warmer. Well, enough rambling. Need to get dogs out one more time for some evening exercise. Pretty much have the barns put to bed.

thanks,Judy