Brooder box with light and heat pad?

[Stiggy]

I currently have a 112 litre plastic roller draw/bin for my brooder, and a 75 watt bulb above to warm the chicks, however It is to close to their heads for my liking and I am thinking of getting a small heat pad to put under the light just to boost the warmth up a bit. They are in the garage which is connected to the house, however the garage is very cold and the windows are not double glazed so the heat is going out almost as fast as the bulb emits it.

So I was wondering if anyone has done this?
Did it work well or was it a waste of time?

thanks in advance for your imputs

 

[25eggfarm]

Do not put a heat pad under them because they could get to hot and they won't be able to get away from the heat when chicks get to warm they walk away from the heat balb so if it's a pad they will not be able to get away. What you shooed do is put a biger watt balb in they're or add mor heat balbs. And make shore the balbs are red so they can sleep. they can die if they can't sleep. Put hard ware cloth around end the balbs if you are scared:cd they will get burned

 

[Stiggy]

I should of mentioned that the heat pad is only a quarth the size of the box, it would only be in one corner so they can get away from it. same as the bulb, it is only in one quarter in one end. I do not have hardwire cloth on hand and they aren't touching the bulb they are 1 1/2 inches off and I will pull it up as they grow. I wont use a wire one because any years ago we had one and it got bumped and moved in the quakes and a chick got crushed by it and another one got caught in it and burned to death, it really was horrible.

 

[CollegeChicken]

chicks definitely do not die from not being able to sleep due to lack of darkness...they will fall asleep when they are tired in a lit environment or not..... More importantly bright lighting helps chicks see their food better and stimulates more eating drinking and general activity. You may choose to shut the white light off at night leaving just the heat lamp ( which should be RED ) on during the sleeping hours. I have been raising beautiful healthy chicks for 7 years and I NEVER shut their lights. (white or red )

- Also to the original poster- you say the heat lamp is too close to their heads...then your set-up is wrong. Within a week or twoAs the chicks age they will jump and fly and hit their heads, aside from that, more importantly
the heat emitting bulbs often have heat gradients on the back that says what temperature the basking spot will be given the distance away from the light. For instance ( depending on wattage) if the lamp is 8 inches away the basking spot will be 98 degrees, at 12 inches away its 92 degrees, at 16 inches away its 84 degrees and so on and so on.I also use a heating pad under a quarter section of my brooder under the heat lamp. Theres nothing wrong with that. But you need to get a thermometer and monitor the basking temperature under the light ( the hot section ) REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS WANT A NICE TOASTY SIDE AND A COOL NON HEATED SIDE OF YOUR BROODER- SO MANY PEOPLE DO NOT MONITOR TEMPS WITH A THERMOMETER..THIS IS SO IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO DO IT 'RIGHT'. I got a digital one that measures ambient heat and work GREAT from Petco for $8.99

 

[Stiggy]

Quote: My set up was meant to be temp, and until I can change that it will be temp. The bulb has nothing on it nor does the box except for wattage. As the chicks age I will move the light up, the set up was designed so I can move the light as needed. Since they are Silkies and cannot fly and cant really jump it shouldn't be a problem, it hasn't been a problem in the last few years, however back then I had a room with 5 brooder boxes in it and lots of chicks ( my mother also raises chickens) so it was really warm and double glazed, however that is no longer the case.

Yes I realise that they need to be able to get away from the heat and the light which is why only one part is heated. Just like I realise that carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) is heavier than air and can suffocate chicks if it settles down the bottom of the box so the bottom has vent holes ( not the direct bottom but about 1 cm up the side) to account for that.

What kind of heat pad do you use? how many watts/volts?

 

[CollegeChicken]

you have obviously never had chicks before if you think silkies cant jump...they will be jumping around and chest bumping eachother by 10 days old if not sooner. My adult silkies (and I know we are talking about chicks here ) jump three feet up into their coop every night. Im only trying to help you which Im assuming is what you want since you reached out to people on this forum whose knowledge may be greater than yours. It sounds like you know the basics but please take what others say into consideration. We are all on here because we love chickens. Here in the US heating pads are pretty standard, they generally are all the same. I just went to the local store and got one for about $15. I set mind on medium setting but I also use a thermometer inside the brooder and it sounds like you do not. I wish you all the luck in the world raising your beautiful babies.
It sounds like you are doing a great job taking care of them and you are obviously a very caring owner, just please be careful with low hanging lights etc.

 

[Stiggy]

I'm quite intrigued that your Silkies can jump that high, my strain cant even get onto the perch which is 30cm from the floor (adults not chicks). Only one of my adult Silkies sleeps on the perch and she hops on the Faverolles mix roosters back and he lifts her up (she is his fave). Do yours need a run up first? Or do they just jump? .
I've been raising chicks for 15 years this Christmas and Silkies for over 5 years. I did however watch the other chicks jump ( A friends hatch went bad and only 2 hatched so I'm brooding them with mine) they an jump and I've made sure that their heads cannot touch the bulb or get within an inch of it.

I've concluded that a heat pad is worth the $30 and have brought one so it should arrive in the next few days as they aren't something that you can just go buy around here which is a giant pain. I do hope that it is worth it, and should anything happen to the light then at least they wont freeze to death ( its winter here which doesn't help).

 

[CollegeChicken]

Your birds are probably better quality than mine..I think if theyre really large crested and full feathered how they are supposed to be it creates a much less athletic bird LOL....

 

[Stiggy]

Do yours lay much? I know that some strains lay much more than others and depending on what your breeding for depends on what your trying to improve. I've been told that they lay only 2-3 eggs per week which in mine is incorrect but I don't know how much others birds lay.

 

[CollegeChicken]

Mine lay decently well for silkies...they each lay about 4 eggs per week...but they go broody ALOT....they make excellent mothers, whether as foster mamas or being allowed to raise their own. They are fiercely protective over their chicks. They are unpredictable layers, kind of like the Polish breed...some lay well others just dont.