Brinsea Ecoglow 20

[jshreck]

Hm ok. I guess I will be giving them natural light. Another thing that occured to me... how warm should the room be? We let the house get pretty cool (into the 60's) since no one is home but the dogs all day. Since the heat from the Ecoglow is more direct than a heat lamp should I kick the thermostat up for a few weeks so they will be warm enough to come out and drink/eat? What is a good temp? Should I go by the standard of 95 the first week minus 5 degrees every week in the brooder? Seems a little hard to do with the EcoGlow set up unless you want your whole house to be a sauna.

 

[kemclaughlin]

I have the red bulb for mine, but it's hanging from the ceiling and not touching anything. They are right under a window with natural sunlight coming in, so they still get the natural light and the daylight cycle. I am not too worried about fires and other than the first night when we had a fussy chick, they make noise, but don't keep me up. We aren't having too much trouble with dust, but until they get closer to being put outside, I have not had dust problems in the past.

 

[NotableNancy]

Hm ok. I guess I will be giving them natural light. Another thing that occured to me... how warm should the room be? We let the house get pretty cool (into the 60's) since no one is home but the dogs all day. Since the heat from the Ecoglow is more direct than a heat lamp should I kick the thermostat up for a few weeks so they will be warm enough to come out and drink/eat? What is a good temp? Should I go by the standard of 95 the first week minus 5 degrees every week in the brooder? Seems a little hard to do with the EcoGlow set up unless you want your whole house to be a sauna.

The literature states it needs to be at least 50 degrees in the room so at 60 you are fine. The room I have them in varies between 60 and 75 (I have the woodstove chugging away during the day to warm it up a bit but that's more for me) and at 60 they still come out and eat/drink. They will just run back under if they get to cold. I do notice them loving the sun on them and stay out longer in it to bask in the light! But you're good if the room is in the 60's

BTW, what are you getting and how many? When are you getting them??

 

[jshreck]

The literature states it needs to be at least 50 degrees in the room so at 60 you are fine. The room I have them in varies between 60 and 75 (I have the woodstove chugging away during the day to warm it up a bit but that's more for me) and at 60 they still come out and eat/drink. They will just run back under if they get to cold. I do notice them loving the sun on them and stay out longer in it to bask in the light! But you're good if the room is in the 60's

BTW, what are you getting and how many? When are you getting them??

Thanks Nancy! That's super helpful!

I'll be picking them up from a local hatchery April 8th. 3 barred rock and 3 easter eggers-- all pullets. After six months of being on the fence about a rooster I decided against it for my first go around with chickens.

 

[hokankai]

Have any of you guys had issues with chicks feathering out slowly under the ecoglow? I have the 50 and my chicks are not growing feathers as quickly as I'd like. They only have wing feathers at almost 2 weeks old.

 

[ronott1]

Have any of you guys had issues with chicks feathering out slowly under the ecoglow? I have the 50 and my chicks are not growing feathers as quickly as I'd like. They only have wing feathers at almost 2 weeks old.

Mine feather fine under the eco Glow. There are slow and fast feathering breeds.

 

[hokankai]

I have several different breeds in there and they are all feathering out pretty slowly. At 1.5 weeks shouldn't they have shoulder feathers coming in? The 2 week old sultans have wing feathers and the start of tail feathers...but that's it.

 

[ronott1]

I have several different breeds in there and they are all feathering out pretty slowly. At 1.5 weeks shouldn't they have shoulder feathers coming in? The 2 week old sultans have wing feathers and the start of tail feathers...but that's it.

This thread has a bunch of breeds that are feathering differently at 2 Weeks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41866/2-week-old-chick-pics-pic-heavy

Some have a bunch, but others have none. It is amazing the differences. I have heard some theories that fast feathering equals disease resistance. Even within breeds, some strains will feather faster than others.

 

[eggorthechicken]

I have a black frizzle Cochin and it took forever for it to feather in...I'm talking 4-5 weeks....I thought it was gonna be bald but she is filled out nicely...shiney black feathers.

 

[tankerman]

Perhaps someone here can answer my question about the Brinsea Ecoglo (because the folks at Brinsea wouldn't);

How long can you use the product to provide heat for 20 chicks?

Seems to me that after a couple of weeks the chicks would be too big to huddle under the unit. Am I missing something here?