Brooder light went out

[3 NH reds]

I have 2 new coops I built, one for chickens and on for turkey. I got them home last Thursday and all went well. Some time between 8:30 pm and 7am when My wife got up the GFI outlet tripped and the heat in the coops went down to 60*. My wife said the ranger chicks were all fine but the Turkey were not. 3 were already dead 3 were weak. When I got home from work only 2 were alive and I did not think one of the remaining 2 would make it but luck was good and we still have 2 of the 6. I yanked out that GFI and put in a regular outlet. I would love to shoot the GFI with my .45ACP but I don't want to get the new birds upset. Any other way to keep chicks warm or anyone here of a battery powered back up light ( ie car battery)

 

[Panth]

I have used hot water bottles when the power has gone out at my house with pretty decent luck. You could also put them in a smaller enclosed space like a smaller box and let them heat themselves with body heat, but this is only for emergencies and you can't leave them like that for very long.

 

[aggiemae]

Sorry about your birds. GFI's can be temperamental.

A temperature alarm is a good investment, you can find them on line for under $50.00. Those gel packs that get heated in the microwave wrapped in old towels are also handy for heat emergencies.

 

[3 NH reds]

The big problem was the power was on every place but in the coops. we have chickens in an old truck tool box and turkey have a cardboard box. I know I could use a power inverter and a car battery to power a lamp but not sure what would make a thermostat that could come on at 75* when the light went out. I will look into a temp alarm and see if thats a good option for us. I think getting rid of the D*^@#ed GFI outlet should end my problem. Can't wait to Bring the GFI to the gun range

 

[3 NH reds]

Here I go again. I got 6 more to replace the 4 that died due to the power outage, wouldn't you know it the light burned out 5 min later. I had a spare bulb so all is well. I had to barricade them so that the month older ones couldn't get in the box with them. That was a "fun" morning discovery, the size they grew in one month. We suspected that one of the big ones was picking on one of the small ones but all is fine now that they are separated.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Maybe you could carry them around for a little while until you get a hot water bottle or one of the other suggestions.
Good luck!