Brooder box design DIY

[MagnoliaMegs]

What are the dimensions of the box? By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, they require 2 s.f./chick. What are you using for a heat lamp? Wattage?

The box measures 1.5 wide x 2.5 feet length & 1 foot deep. We did have 6 chicks in it last year and it seemed fine, we moved them outside as soon as it was warm enough to the sectioned off coop. This year we're planning for 3 new chicks.

 

[aart]

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.


The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:

If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.

If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.

If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!


The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.



Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[MagnoliaMegs]

Y’all made me nervous about the dog jumping on it with that heat lamp, for good reason. We got creative with the dining room chairs so I could sleep easy last night. Rosie left it alone, so I think we’re in the clear. I guess every night will be musical chairs before bed.

Great job, I like the way he made the lamp stand adjustable. But since you mentioned your dog could possibly jump up on it, I would make sure this setup is well secured or that the dogs are being monitored... a curious dog knocking over a heat bulb onto the rug or drapes is recipe for a fire.

 

[MagnoliaMegs]

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.


The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:

If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.

If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.

If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!


The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.



Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

Great info. Thanks for sharing it with me. Particularly the behavior info was helpful. The lamp, we ended up just raising it up some. I did go out and buy a reptile bulb 75watt was all they had... it wasn’t hot enough for the babies. They acted cold and huddled under it. It’s still really cold outdoors here, snowing at this moment. They seem happier with the larger bulb, raised up a bit. They congregate in the center of the box now and are pretty active. I think if outside temps come above freezing I might try the lower wattage bulb then.

 

[aart]

I did go out and buy a reptile bulb 75watt was all they had... it wasn’t hot enough for the babies.

Did you try setting the lamp shade right on the hardware cloth top of brooder?

 

[MagnoliaMegs]

Did you try setting the lamp shade right on the hardware cloth top of brooder?

No, I am not comfortable doing that since there is plastic from the box lid under the edges of the hardware cloth, the light shade would be too close to the plastic edges. The reason we built the adjustable arm to hang the light was so we wouldn't have the light touching the box at all.