BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[Blooie]

Thanks for your concerns, but I have everything in order. The area where the chicks are is thoroughly cleaned frequently. I have a toddler in the house, so I keep things neat and safe. The brooder (aside from the top and the very back) is lined with cardboard to hold most things inside. As for the thermometer, the entire front half of the brooder is cooled off. The light is pointed towards the back end. The chicks let me know if they are too hot or too cold anyways, and they've only once expressed being too cold, and I fixed the problem instantly. I am a stay at home mom, so I monitor them all day. As for the laundry basket over the top of the heat lamp, it is not heated by the lamp. The lamp is pointed in the brooder, and is secured to the bars on the top of the cage. I've tied it down so that it wouldn't be able to touch the lamp whatsoever. The laundry basket is to protect against my kitten jumping up and knocking the lamp. Again, I monitor it, and the heat lamp does not heat up the basket. In fact, I would assume that having a lamp attached to a Rubbermaid container would have potential to cause more harm than my little set up. I've done my research extensively and I have kept all my babies alive and happy, as well as my family happy and clean and safe. Thanks.

It's quite easy to see from the tone of your response that I offended you, and for that I sincerely apologize.

 

[lnhackford]

It's quite easy to see from the tone of your response that I offended you, and for that I sincerely apologize. 

Actually, you didn't. No need to apologize. I try to be as precise as possible when trying to explain something in writing. I can see how this came off as defensive, but I just like to explain everything clearly to avoid missing things or having to further explain myself. I know that how I care for my chicks may not be how other people would...and that is just fine. Not everyone can be home all day with their chicks like I can, and we are all entitled to our own opinion.

 

[Blooie]

Actually, you didn't. No need to apologize. I try to be as precise as possible when trying to explain something in writing. I can see how this came off as defensive, but I just like to explain everything clearly to avoid missing things or having to further explain myself. I know that how I care for my chicks may not be how other people would...and that is just fine. Not everyone can be home all day with their chicks like I can, and we are all entitled to our own opinion.

I'm glad that you weren't offended. It sounded as though you were and I felt bad about that.

I am home with my chicks all day as well. I also have a toddler - my 3 year old granddaughter (she was two when we had last year's chicks) who has Spina Bifida, hydrocephalus, and several other medical issues. I am her full time care provider, doing 3 of the 5 catheterizations she needs daily, her morning meds, and her physical therapy. She spends most of her time on the floor, crawling to where she wants to be. So I didn't just clean up after my chickens frequently - I cleaned up after them daily, and on more than one occasion twice a day. The nasty dust I was referring to doesn't rear it's ugly head until the chicks begin that fast feathering process, and it has very little to do with cleaning practices. It's a fine, gray powder that floats in the air over any barrier and settles in the oddest places! Three months after the chicks went outside and the office they were living in had been gutted and cleaned, Ken needed his tux, which was in the spare closet in that office. We found chicken dust inside the pocket of said tux. <sigh> But it's not the dust ON things that poses a health risk - it's the minute particles that can't be seen as they float through the air that get into the breaths we take and have made many people right here on the forum ill.

You are so right.. we each have our own way of caring for our chicks and our own opinions. But some things about those adorable little stinkers are the same no matter where they are and how fastidiously they are raised, and dust and heat requirements are two of those things. After last year I vowed I would never ever again raise chicks in the house and definitely would never allow a heat lamp around my chicks again. And I've successfully raised 3 batches of chicks avoiding exactly that, and it's an idea that's catching on. My chicks are happy, strong and healthy, and my family is 100% safe from dust and accidental fire. I just wanted to correct any impression that I had problems because I wasn't a good steward of my family and my chicks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

 

[ozark hen]

Blooie, well said about the chicks and God Blessed you with your granddaughter. I read once: God picks special people to deal with new souls with difficult problems. Not everyone could or would do what you are doing out of love. Hugs to you my dear.

 

[ozark hen]

I also must add that I am terrified of using a heat lamp in the house or in the brooder cage...I found a 60 wtt light bulb is sufficient for me. Nothing is written in stone so we each do what is best for our situations. Of course, I am in a pickle now that we are losing all our reg light bulbs LOL I think I will stick to letting the hens raise their own babies in the future.

 

[Blooie]

I also must add that I am terrified of using a heat lamp in the house or in the brooder cage...I found a 60 wtt light bulb is sufficient for me. Nothing is written in stone so we each do what is best for our situations. Of course, I am in a pickle now that we are losing all our reg light bulbs LOL I think I will stick to letting the hens raise their own babies in the future.

I just brood mine outside in the run with a heating pad. It's worked so well for us...our chicks are brooded out in an open pen in the run in full sight of all of the adults, and they learn by watching them. Integration into the flock was so smooth. They also feather out quickly and are the strongest, calmest chicks I've ever seen! Others are finding the same thing to be true. It's absolutely the closest, most natural method of brooding to having a Mama Hen. They also go to sleep when the sun goes down, sleep without a sound all night, and are popping up raring to go in the morning. They scoot under when they're cold, pop back out to explore, sit on it, around it, and if they get spooked they head right under. And it's so simple - it's a heating pad, a wire frame, a towel and some straw. That's it. My chicks were out when it was in the teens and twenties and we didn't have a single issue. After all, Mama Hens don't only hatch out chicks during balmy weather, and the chicks don't stay under her 24/7 either!

I provided a link to the thread about it in a post above. Here's a little idea of what it looks like in action.

 

[ozark hen]

love it!!! I can see how they would integrate with the flock easily. I have a huge brooder pen inside my coop but all my adult birds prefer to roost in the outside enclosed pen? Go figure. Even during the winter months those silly things are outside! ha ha I really do love your idea.

 

[pmcont3]

 

[RubyNala97]

I'm glad that you weren't offended. It sounded as though you were and I felt bad about that. I am home with my chicks all day as well. I also have a toddler - my 3 year old granddaughter (she was two when we had last year's chicks) who has Spina Bifida, hydrocephalus, and several other medical issues. I am her full time care provider, doing 3 of the 5 catheterizations she needs daily, her morning meds, and her physical therapy. She spends most of her time on the floor, crawling to where she wants to be. So I didn't just clean up after my chickens frequently - I cleaned up after them daily, and on more than one occasion twice a day. The nasty dust I was referring to doesn't rear it's ugly head until the chicks begin that fast feathering process, and it has very little to do with cleaning practices. It's a fine, gray powder that floats in the air over any barrier and settles in the oddest places! Three months after the chicks went outside and the office they were living in had been gutted and cleaned, Ken needed his tux, which was in the spare closet in that office. We found chicken dust inside the pocket of said tux. But it's not the dust ON things that poses a health risk - it's the minute particles that can't be seen as they float through the air that get into the breaths we take and have made many people right here on the forum ill. You are so right.. we each have our own way of caring for our chicks and our own opinions. But some things about those adorable little stinkers are the same no matter where they are and how fastidiously they are raised, and dust and heat requirements are two of those things. After last year I vowed I would never ever again raise chicks in the house and definitely would never allow a heat lamp around my chicks again. And I've successfully raised 3 batches of chicks avoiding exactly that, and it's an idea that's catching on. My chicks are happy, strong and healthy, and my family is 100% safe from dust and accidental fire. I just wanted to correct any impression that I had problems because I wasn't a good steward of my family and my chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

So sorry to hear about your grandchild. I know that she is an extra special gift to you and your family! But your post has me freaking out a little. I have my brooder in the living room. I only have 2, 3 week old chicks right now and dust has not been bad at all. But I have 12 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow. They are all silkies, incase breed makes a difference. So I have a couple questions, because I too have a baby & young children. 1) you were concerned about the lighting. Does it make the dust worse or is there another concern? (I am seriously considering the mama heating pad for this next batch) 2) if you keep the chicks outside, do they still bond to you? Because my little guys are so friendly, they run to me! 3) why is it so bad to breath the dust particles that are in the air? Thank you for responding if you have time!!

 

[ValedasLascas]

Hi, I think I can answer your questions. 1) ALL chicks have dust (including quails, turkeys etc.) and if you keep them inside it gets everywhere. 2) Most chicks will bond to you because you are the food provider and give them affection. When you appear, there they will come running. 3) Dust particles in the air enter into your respiratory tract and can cause severe breathing difficulties.