Can Someone "Approve" My Brooder Plans?

[rosemarythyme]

Temperature is another thing I'm curious about. I've seen it listed that chicks should be started out at 105 but other places say 95. Thoughts?

Assuming you're talking about ambient temps (heat lamps) I personally feel 95 is a little too high and something closer to 90 is good for the first week. Whenever I see photos of plastic tote brooders with the heat lamp inches away from chicks, they look like little chicken nuggets under a broiler to me.

Chickens are far more sensitive to heat than cold and that applies to chicks as well. At 105 I'm guessing you'd see a lot more pasty butt, maybe panting and diarrhea from too much water.

 

[AmyJane725]

It's 95 to start, IF you use a heat lamp. I believe you were going to use a heat plate, so brooder temperature doesn't apply.

??
I'm thoroughly confused now. Please explain. I thought I needed to raise the brooder plate (the same way you'd raise a light bulb) to reduce the temp as time goes on. Do I not need to do that?

If it helps at all, we keep our house at 68 during the summer and 65 in the winter (daytime). Summer night temps are probably 66. Winter night temps can be as low as 59.

 

[blackdog043]

Whenever I see photos of plastic tote brooders with the heat lamp inches away from chicks, they look like little chicken nuggets under a broiler to me.

Isn't that the truth, I cringe every time I see the plastic totes and heat lamps! If you use a tote, at least be using the MHP, so you don't end up with chicken nuggets.

 

[blackdog043]

??
I'm thoroughly confused now. Please explain. I thought I needed to raise the brooder plate (the same way you'd raise a light bulb) to reduce the temp as time goes on. Do I not need to do that?

Keep raising the plate as they grow, but they should be able to be in contact with it. Just like the would be with a momma hen.

 

[rosemarythyme]

??
I'm thoroughly confused now. Please explain. I thought I needed to raise the brooder plate (the same way you'd raise a light bulb) to reduce the temp as time goes on. Do I not need to do that?

You do, but not to reduce the heat... it's to accommodate the size of the growing chicks.

As I don't use a brooder plate I don't know if there's temp controls on it. My heat pad had hi-med-low but I used that more to wean them off heat at the end more than anything.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

??
I'm thoroughly confused now. Please explain. I thought I needed to raise the brooder plate (the same way you'd raise a light bulb) to reduce the temp as time goes on. Do I not need to do that?

So, heatlamps warm up chicks by warming the air. So the ambient temperature matters a lot. But with brooder plates they get their warmth by coming in contact with the heat plate without raising the ambient temps very much. So you keep the heat plate around back-level for the chicks and they stay warm that way. You don't check the temperature.

 

[AmyJane725]

So, heatlamps warm up chicks by warming the air. So the ambient temperature matters a lot. But with brooder plates they get their warmth by coming in contact with the heat plate without raising the ambient temps very much. So you keep the heat plate around back-level for the chicks and they stay warm that way. You don't check the temperature.

Ok, cool. That's simple at least. I was thinking I'd need to buy a good thermometer to keep an eye on the temp under there and adjust it as needed.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Nope. It should stay around 105 on it's surface at all times like a mother hen and then they just duck under it when cold, just like a mother hen.

 

[AmyJane725]

Any tips on how often/how much I should raise it? How much height do they gain each week? I suppose I can just look for when it seems like they're kinda having trouble getting under it...

 

[blackdog043]

Yep, just keep an eye on them. Also if you keep one side higher than the other, they can choose where they want to be. I do the same thing, using the mama heat pad method.