Brooder in winter

[CaretakerCarol]

The brand on ours is Titan. We have had it for 5 years and used it for several years in both chicken and turkey brooder setups. My one complaint is that it has a textured plastic top which makes cleaning the poop off more work than necessary. I wonder if the Brinsea point top would fit?

 

[Lelilamom]

We've been hatching/brooding for decade now. Today it's 11 degrees outside. We have one of those HUGE water tubs from a local farm store. We brood in that in our basement using heat lamps. We move the chicks to an open air brooder in our coop after 4 weeks. It's just too darn cold to brood outside.

 

[kunsangsean]

We've been hatching/brooding for decade now. Today it's 11 degrees outside. We have one of those HUGE water tubs from a local farm store. We brood in that in our basement using heat lamps. We move the chicks to an open air brooder in our coop after 4 weeks. It's just too darn cold to brood outside.

11 degrees IS cold! What are the temps typically like when you move them outside in 4 weeks?

 

[NH Friend]

Brooder plates do not work by warming ambient air around them even though they do warm area under them a little bit. They work just like a mother hen warms her chicks by touching her warm body the same as the chicks touching the brooder plate. But the brooder plate doesn't have feathers to insulate and hold heat in or to regulate its temps that is why they have recommendations on best ambient air working temps. Hope this helps you understand how they work.

Good morning! Thank you for posting this. I have a wooden, outdoors brooder box with a hardware cloth top hatch. I've got a brooder plate (which I now realize lacks any mention of minimum operating temps) for my chicks arriving next week. Weekly forecast has daily highs in the upper 30's, low 40's, and nightly lows averaging in the mid to high teens. I'll need an additional heat source, yes? To get the ambient temp inside the brooder to at least 70? Or should I wrap the brooder in a comforter, assuring proper ventilation? Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can you contact the manufacturer and chat with them about ambient temperatures? Could save you some work and worry.

The coldest I've heard any warning is 50 F, not 70. That is only where the heat plate is, not the entire brooder though there could be an advantage in keeping the area where the water is above freezing. Whatever minimum temperature you decide on that is just during the coldest temperatures. When the weather warms up you want the far reaches of the brooder to be cool enough so you don't cook the chicks.

 

[NatJ]

Weekly forecast has daily highs in the upper 30's, low 40's, and nightly lows averaging in the mid to high teens. I'll need an additional heat source, yes? To get the ambient temp inside the brooder to at least 70?

Brooder plates often say to use in temperatures above 50 degrees.
Chicks do fine with access to temperatures at and below freezing, as long as they also have a spot to get warm.
So 70 degrees is probably warmer than you need in much of the brooder area.

...my chicks arriving next week.

I assume the chicks are being shipped to you?

I would probably use a heat lamp (yes, the big red kind) for the first few days. Put it somewhat near the brooder plate. Make sure the feed and water are in that warm area for at least the first day.

When shipped chicks first arrive, they are cold and hungry and thirsty all at once, they do not know what things are good to eat and drink, and they do not know that the brooder plate is warm. But they are attracted to light, and when they go to the lit area they find warmth and food and water all in one place.

I think using a heat lamp for at least the first day makes a real difference in survival of shipped chicks. (Of course the brooder still needs a cool area so they can get away from the heat if they want to, even that first day.)

I'm not sure how soon to remove the heat lamp-- maybe on day two or three, maybe at the end of the first week. It would partly depend on how the chicks are doing, and partly on the exact weather conditions that week (remove it when the temperature is stable or rising, not when the temperature is dropping sharply.)

 

[NH Friend]

Brooder plates often say to use in temperatures above 50 degrees.
Chicks do fine with access to temperatures at and below freezing, as long as they also have a spot to get warm.
So 70 degrees is probably warmer than you need in much of the brooder area.


I assume the chicks are being shipped to you?

I would probably use a heat lamp (yes, the big red kind) for the first few days. Put it somewhat near the brooder plate. Make sure the feed and water are in that warm area for at least the first day.

When shipped chicks first arrive, they are cold and hungry and thirsty all at once, they do not know what things are good to eat and drink, and they do not know that the brooder plate is warm. But they are attracted to light, and when they go to the lit area they find warmth and food and water all in one place.

I think using a heat lamp for at least the first day makes a real difference in survival of shipped chicks. (Of course the brooder still needs a cool area so they can get away from the heat if they want to, even that first day.)

I'm not sure how soon to remove the heat lamp-- maybe on day two or three, maybe at the end of the first week. It would partly depend on how the chicks are doing, and partly on the exact weather conditions that week (remove it when the temperature is stable or rising, not when the temperature is dropping sharply.)

Yes, shipped chicks. I'm a first-timer, and my executive functioning wasn't plugged in all the way when chick shopping. My purchase button speed outpaced my critical thinking skills.
I am so very grateful for your help! I'm going to print this out and tack it to my brooder. Thank you thank you! Happy Monday!

 

[Huntmaster]

Good morning! Thank you for posting this. I have a wooden, outdoors brooder box with a hardware cloth top hatch. I've got a brooder plate (which I now realize lacks any mention of minimum operating temps) for my chicks arriving next week. Weekly forecast has daily highs in the upper 30's, low 40's, and nightly lows averaging in the mid to high teens. I'll need an additional heat source, yes? To get the ambient temp inside the brooder to at least 70? Or should I wrap the brooder in a comforter, assuring proper ventilation? Thank you for any suggestions!

Looks like you have already gotten some good info. What size is your brooder and is it draft free?

 

[NatJ]

Yes, shipped chicks. I'm a first-timer, and my executive functioning wasn't plugged in all the way when chick shopping. My purchase button speed outpaced my critical thinking skills.
I am so very grateful for your help! I'm going to print this out and tack it to my brooder. Thank you thank you! Happy Monday!

Since you're a first timer, I'll state something fairly basic about chicks and brooders:
healthy chicks can self regulate their temperature by moving to a warmer or cooler place.

The warm area can be heated by a heat lamp, in which case it tends to be several feet across, with the hottest spot in the middle and cooler areas further out. Or the warm area can be a heat plate, or a heating pad cave, or a broody hen, and all the rest of the space is cool. Once the chicks are warm & healthy after being shipped, any of those can work just fine.

Specific notes about heat lamps:
Because of how much space gets warm with a heat lamp, it is a very poor choice for a small brooder in hot weather or inside a human house. But with a large brooder (so there is still plenty of cool space), it can be a very good way to provide heat for chicks, especially when the brooder is outdoors in cold weather. There is also a very real risk of fire with a heat lamp, if it gets knocked down or if something flammable gets too close to it, so do be careful if you use one.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is also a very real risk of fire with a heat lamp, if it gets knocked down or if something flammable gets too close to it, so do be careful if you use one.

I'll be more specific. Use wire or chain to keep a heat lamp in place. Toss that clamp so you are not tempted to use it. Do not use string or plastic that can burn or melt. Wire or chain to be safe.

I use a heat lamp. In cold weather like you are talking about I actually use two, to increase the area warmed a bit but mostly for redundancy. I've never had a bulb go out but if one does it could be a disaster. And check your circuit. Make sure the circuit breaker can handle that load. Anything that produces heat draws a lot of power but heat lamps are really bad about that. In those temperatures you will need some power.