Brooder heat lamp alternative and towels?

[mdees88]

I believe she was referring to your comment that the hot spot can be kept anywhere between 110 to 130 and "they would be fine." If we assume the temperature range would remain the same, if you set at 130 the other end would be 100. That would give the chicks nowhere to go to cool off. And lets face it, most people don't have brooders that are 4 ft long so they aren't going to have a 30 degree difference between one end and another.

I was just making a point. I never recommended having the hot end at 130, i just said I CAN if the cool end is cool enough...... my point. (FYI the temps don't work like that. My hot end is partially enclosed and the cold end is wide open. If the hot end was 130 the cold end might be 85 at most)

Beside, what's the point of setting the hottest part to higher than they need. You'd just be taking away space they could be using.

This goes back to what I said earlier.... Too hot is better than too cold. If my brooder is too cold my quail would pile on top of each other and bottom ones would die. If it's too hot they would stay a little further away from the heat source.

So too cold = dead quail. Too hot = perfectly fine, comfortable quail.

This is simple stuff, let's not over think it. There's 2 ways to set up a brooder:

1) you set the brooders up like the heater in your house. You set the thermostat at 70 and the entire house is comfortable, from the bedroom to the kitchen. But if the temp gets to 75 you're hot and uncomfortable. Or if it gets to 65 you're cold and uncomfortable.

2) you set up your brooders like a bonfire. The heat source is hotter than necessary but you sit where you are comfortable. If you're cold you move closer. Warm, move further away. You can have a bonfire when it's below freezing or a bonfire during the summer heat. You will just be closer or further away from it....

The first way requires maintaining a rather precise temp so the birds stay comfortable. This way is also a lot more succeptable to external factors (room temperature fluctuations) changing the temp inside your brooder. This way requires some monitoring and tweaking of the heat source to keep the temp just right.

The second way allows for a greater swing in room temp. If a cold front moves in and my shop temp drops 30+ degrees my quail will still be warm because they originally had more heat than they needed. This way is a set it and forget way.

Neither way is right or wrong. I would just like everyone to open their minds a little, and instead of thinking I'm cooking my quail in my brooder, realize that there's more than one way to skin a cat......

 

[lomine]

Just discovered "Martha" is actually a "Marvin"....

I can't have Roosters in Larimer County (Northern CO).... Anyone have room for a Americauna Roo??

He was sold under the name Americauna, yes! (I also still have the receipt) I feel bad- He's only 10 weeks old & quite nice when he's not chasing around Abigail (a Blue Americauna that has stand offs with him). He "squaks" in excitement and is the first to greet me when I'm around, especially when bringing treats. What really gave him away, was that he picks on the gals, he pecked at my feet when I had slippers on once (probably the fuzz....) but I've been making a point to pick him up often, at first thinking "she" was establishing head hen status. He's nice to humans and has gotten used to the dogs.

I CAN take him back to the place I purchased him at as a chick, but I'm afraid he will become a dinner entrée and want to at least try to find him a home if I can.

View attachment 1401943

I was just making a point. I never recommended having the hot end at 130, i just said I CAN if the cool end is cool enough...... my point. (FYI the temps are not linear, it doesn't work like that. My hot end is partially enclosed and the cold end is wide open. If the hot end was 130 the cold end might be 85 at most)



This goes back to what I said earlier.... Too hot is better than too cold. If my brooder is too cold my quail would pile on top of each other and bottom ones would die. If it's too hot they would stay a little further away from the heat source. So too cold = dead quail. Too hot = perfectly fine, comfortable quail.

This is simple stuff, let's not over think it. There's 2 ways to set up a brooder:

1) you set the brooders up like the heater in your house. You set the thermostat at 70 and the entire house is comfortable. From the bedroom to the kitchen. But if the temp gets to 75 your hot and uncomfortable. Or if it gets to 65 your cold and uncomfortable.

2) you set up your brooders like a bonfire. The heat source is hotter than necessary but you sit where you are comfortable. If you're cold you move closer. Warm, move further away. You can have a bonfire when it's below freezing or a bonfire during the summer heat. You will just be closer or further away from it....

Your way requires maintaining a rather precise temp so the birds stay comfortable. Your way is also a lot more succeptable to external factors (room temperature fluctuations) changing the temp inside your brooder.

My way allows for a greater swing in room temp. If a cold front moves in and my shop temp drops 30+ degrees my quail will still be warm because they originally had more heat than they needed.

Neither way is right or wrong. I would just like everyone to open their minds a little, and instead of thinking I'm cooking my quail in my brooder, realize that there's more than one way to skin a cat......

Except you aren't being clear that you're trying to make some kind of point or that your examples may only apply to your brooder set-up. Your "bonfire" idea only works if the chicks actually have a cool place to go. You are telling someone with a much smaller, plastic, fully enclosed brooder that it's fine to have their lamp set at 110+. I disagree. When I did use a heat lamp (which I don't anymore) I tried to keep the hottest part at 95 to start with the coolest parts at 65, never had any crushed or cold chicks. And my chicks used the entire brooder. All brooders should be set up with a warm area and a cool area but those extremes should be within reason because too hot can also = dehydrated chicks or stressed chicks or dead chicks.

 

[Blooie]

MHP doesn’t require overthinking. Drape a Sunbeam Heating Pad over a wire frame. Smoosh the frame so it’s at the level of the chicks’ backs. Turn on the heating pad and watch them treat it exactly as they would a mother hen. Done and done. No thermometers, no need to move lamps around to adjust heat, no lights 24/7, and they decide what they want and when. I’m not telling them what they have to have.

Ambient temps away from the heating pad cave are 20-30 degrees during our normal chick springtime season here, and even drop into the teens from time to time. They play, duck under MHP for a quick warm up, then run back out. Sundown, they settle underneath, purring until they sleep. They sleep all night, and wake up ready to go again. No stress on them or on me. No transition from brooder to brooder to pens. They snuggle on top of it for a nap if they want, just like they tuck in on a broodie’s back. It’s the closest we can come to being a broody mom. The only difference is she doesn’t move so don’t they have to find her or be called. It’s always right there.

But we all have our own ways to do things. We do what works for us, our setups, our situation, and our own personal comfort zones. If that’s a lamp, great. If it’s MHP or a commercial brooding plate, that’s great too. If there was only one “right” way this entire web site could be read in half an hour. I’m not trying to be argumentative. The OP said she was looking for alternatives to a heat lamp, so I presented an option and why I (and many other people) prefer it. But too hot is never better than too cold. As I said, neither choice is good. I’ll be happy to share a video of my chicks being brooded outdoors when the air temperature had finally gone UP to 38 degrees, with rain instead of snow for a change. By the way, temps under MHP average 82.5-86 degrees. They thrive, batch after batch, user after user.

 

[mdees88]

Except you aren't being clear that you're trying to make some kind of point or that your examples may only apply to your brooder set-up.

But, but, but, but, but......

You are telling someone with a much smaller, plastic, fully enclosed brooder that it's fine to have their lamp set at 110+.

No I'm not..... I told the OP her 120 degree/80 degree brooder would be fine....

Since it appears you missed it....

Post #3

I just have to use the dreadful heat lamp until I get the plate in the mail it's 120 under the lamp but 80 on the other side so hopefully they'll find the cozy spot in between.

Post #6

Your current brooder will be just fine. They will stay on the edge of the light and not directly under it. I keep mine around 110 and you can see they stay where they like the temperature...View attachment 1399309

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When I did use a heat lamp (which I don't anymore) I tried to keep the hottest part at 95 to start with the coolest parts at 65, never had any crushed or cold chicks. And my chicks used the entire brooder

Okay, that's good. I've never had any crushed or cold chicks either, out of 250ish. But I bet the "usable space" of my brooder is bigger than your entire brooder. So my chicks have more room?

Sorry, I couldn't help myself....

 

[mdees88]

MHP doesn’t require overthinking. Drape a Sunbeam Heating Pad over a wire frame. Smoosh the frame so it’s at the level of the chicks’ backs. Turn on the heating pad and watch them treat it exactly as they would a mother hen. Done and done. No thermometers, no need to move lamps around to adjust heat, no lights 24/7, and they decide what they want and when. I’m not telling them what they have to have.

I'm glad the MHP works well for you. If I only had a handful of birds and was keeping them as I pets I might would consider one.

I hatched 150 quail last batch and a couple $5 light bulbs seems like a better choice for me.

I've offered no opinion on the MHP either way. All I did was tell the OP her 120/80 degree brooder will be fine until her heating pad arrives....


I never intended for it turn into all this...

But too hot is never better than too cold.

I guess we will never agree on this.

But we all have our own ways to do things. We do what works for us, our setups, our situation, and our own personal comfort zones. If that’s a lamp, great. If it’s MHP or a commercial brooding plate, that’s great too. If there was only one “right” way this entire web site could be read in half an hour.

 

[Blooie]

I didn’t see it as “turning into” anything. I saw it as an extremely civil discussion of what each of us prefers, and why. I’ve spent way too many years sharing what MHP is, how it works, and why so many of us like it so that such a unorthodox way of raising chicks wasn’t so scary to take it personally.

I’m usually the first to say that for very large batches of chicks, MHP can be really impractical. It’s more for smaller groups of chicks, up to 20 in some cases. So I never have a problem acknowledging the limitations of the system. It works by mimicking a broody hen, and seldom does she have that many chicks to raise, either.

It’s all good.

 

[TMarie]

I appreciate all of the input here. Mdees88 is right. My range is 80-120 and they hang out in the middle, but run all over when they're not resting. They mostly avoid the hot spot though. But I'll be switching to the heating plate today. I really dislike the lamp, but I'll miss seeing them lying around all cozy. I'm sad they'll all be hidden under the plate now when they sleep lol