Can Someone "Approve" My Brooder Plans?

[HennyPenny2019]

I think your box is going to get pretty small pretty fast. You could just add boxes together if you stick with those. After the first week you’ll need a cover for those.

The plate heater is fine. Skip the feather option. Waterer and feeder are your choice- there’s lots of different choices out there.

I’m not fond of the play pen, only because it looks like a nightmare to clean. But people use them so they must work fine.

I’m currently using puppy pads in my brooder and love them since they are easy to change. I’ll switch to pine shavings in a couple weeks.

(I’m using an xl folding kennel with 2 doors, and will expand with a wire puppy play yard that comes with a cover and easily attached to one end of the kennel.)

Good luck! Don’t over think it. You’ve got the basics down just fine, except for the cover for the box(es).

Also, a roost can be a stick stuck thru the side of the box on each side.

Puppy pads are a brilliant idea! I’m very familiar with those

 

[HennyPenny2019]

View attachment 1682241 Mine are getting their wing feathers. Here is one of my chicks at 4 or 5 days. The feathers are much longer already, only a day later. They flap their wings while running the 4’ length of their brooder.

(I have an amazon cloud cam set up over my brooder. It was a bit spendy, but....)

Awwwwwwww ... I can hardly wait to get my chickens .. looking like this year.

 

[AmyJane725]

Awwwwwwww ... I can hardly wait to get my chickens .. looking like this year.

I'm excited too. Do you have a coop and everything already?

 

[CanadianSkeptic]

I most definitely recommend heat plates! In fact, I've never used anything else, and now I never would. I brooded my first batch of ducklings 2 years ago under heat plates and loved them. Since then I've brooded 3 batches of chickens and 2 more batches of ducklings. No problems at all and so easy to use.

The heat plates come with 4 legs that are easily adjusted. From the very first time I used a heat plate I put the legs in so that the back end was lower than the front. That way the chicks found it easier to run under, and they could adjust their own temperature by moving wherever suited them. Warmer in the back, cooler in the front. I did find that some chicks seemed to hang out in front right from day 1, where some seemed to like the extra heat in the back. Nobody got pasty butt, and nobody ever acted too hot or too cold, it was perfect. I also didn't add lighting for the chicks at night. When night time came it was dark like it would be under a hen. They all went to sleep and there wasn't a single peep. Just a warning for you...if you've never seen a baby chick really zonked out, they lie on their side and they can look like they died. The first time I saw that I was horrified! Turns out it's completely normal, LOL!

As to when to raise the heat plate, that is just something that you will know by watching your chicks. Same goes when you first start out with a heat plate. When you see the size of the actual chicks it makes it easier to judge how high to set up the plate. As the chicks got older I started to straighten out the heat plate so that it wasn't tilted towards the back so that I could put a nipple waterer on top.

One thing I will say, I didn't trust the companies claims when they referred to how many chicks the 12x12 heat plate could brood (I had 22 chicks the first time), so I also bought a larger one (16x24) from Premier 1. I start off with the small 12x12 and when I'm ready to move the chicks to a larger area, or to an area in my coop I refer to as chick jail, I use the larger one. With the larger one I feel more confident that I can move my chicks outside and they will all have room to get under the plate and stay nice and cozy. I've put 22 4 week chicks outside in my coop under a large heat plate with night time temperatures of about 10 celsius, or 50 fahrenheit, and they all did perfectly fine. In fact, some of them chose to sleep on top of the plate, even when I tried to scoot them under, lol!

When I first started out with ducklings/chicks I remember being paranoid about them getting cold. Then I had a broody hen that I let hatch out a few chicks. Let me tell you, those little babies are much tougher than I ever would have guessed. They were out running around in cool windy weather at 6 days old, and didn't seem that fazed by it. They'd run under mom when they needed to but it wasn't nearly as often as I would have guessed. I also found that they feathered out much faster than in-house brooded chicks. A proper heat source with no drafts is vitally important but I question the "Ambient Temperature" claims that I read about when I was first doing research. Seeing chicks being raised by hens a few times now has made me a lot more relaxed in regards to brooding these days.

So, to finally finish this novel of a reply, I'd recommend a medium size heat plate if you think you'll be putting your chicks out and the weather isn't completely perfect. That should give them plenty of room for when they're older. Also, the heat plates are easy to use and stress free, more natural compared to a heat lamp, and no risk of ever starting a fire.

Good luck!

Hope some of this helps

 

[AmyJane725]

They all went to sleep and there wasn't a single peep. Just a warning for you...if you've never seen a baby chick really zonked out, they lie on their side and they can look like they died. The first time I saw that I was horrified! Turns out it's completely normal, LOL!

I'm glad you told me that. I always thought they slept sitting down. I definitely would have thought they died if I came upon them lying on their sides.

I'm planning on getting 7 birds, so hopefully the 10x10 plate I ordered is big enough. Listing says it's supposed to be good for 15 chicks. So, since I have slightly less than half I'm hoping it will be good throughout the process.

 

[CanadianSkeptic]

I'm glad you told me that. I always thought they slept sitting down. I definitely would have thought they died if I came upon them lying on their sides.

I'm planning on getting 7 birds, so hopefully the 10x10 plate I ordered is big enough. Listing says it's supposed to be good for 15 chicks. So, since I have slightly less than half I'm hoping it will be good throughout the process.

Yes, I just about had a heart attack when I saw the first chick face down all sprawled out. I was sure it was dead, lol!
I think you'll like the heat plate. I never was crazy about heat lamps so I was so happy when I found these. Now I can't imagine using anything else.

 

[AmyJane725]

Yes, I just about had a heart attack when I saw the first chick face down all sprawled out. I was sure it was dead, lol!
I think you'll like the heat plate. I never was crazy about heat lamps so I was so happy when I found these. Now I can't imagine using anything else.

How long does it take the chicks to get back to normal after sleeping like that? Do they just wake right up and start running around again, or are they groggy?

My plate is arriving tomorrow. Excited to get it into my brooder box. I've got the feeder and waterers in there already. And people on this forum are right. This box is a lot smaller than it originally seemed. My real problem is that I have to keep it in my bedroom, which is already very small, so I don't have room for a big fridge box or anything like that

 

[CanadianSkeptic]

How long does it take the chicks to get back to normal after sleeping like that? Do they just wake right up and start running around again, or are they groggy?

My plate is arriving tomorrow. Excited to get it into my brooder box. I've got the feeder and waterers in there already. And people on this forum are right. This box is a lot smaller than it originally seemed. My real problem is that I have to keep it in my bedroom, which is already very small, so I don't have room for a big fridge box or anything like that

I also misjudged the size of my first chick brooder. I had 22 chicks in a long rubbermaid bin that I thought would have lasted me a good while. Nope. Eventually they got too big, too bored, and they started picking on each other. And with 22 birds it happens pretty fast.
Next I moved them to a spot in my garage. I used a doggy exercise pen that was 4 feet high. I had some hardware cloth that I put all around the bottom so they couldn't squeeze out. It worked for awhile but it didn't contain the shavings so I was constantly sweeping.
Finally I said to heck with it, and put them in their coop. It wasn't quite finished but it was secure, and that was the important part.
One thing I was thankful for, being raised in the house they were used to lots of noise from regular household stuff, 6 dogs, cats, etc. When they were in the coop we were still trying to finish things and we were running power tools and such. They could not have cared less about all the noise.

 

[aart]

I most definitely recommend heat plates! In fact, I've never used anything else, and now I never would. I brooded my first batch of ducklings 2 years ago under heat plates and loved them. Since then I've brooded 3 batches of chickens and 2 more batches of ducklings. No problems at all and so easy to use.

This is a great post @CanadianSkeptic ...I've saved it to my notes to share with others.

 

[k9grammy]

When do you discontinue the heat plate? I'm starting my chicks in the spare bedroom because the weather has been a bit nasty. In the teens at night and maybe up to 35 or 40 in the daytime, But an extremely cold NE wind howling thru. Hopefully in a few weeks the temps will raise a bit.
I've made a brooder pen for them with a dog x-pen, and thought I'd move the whole set up out to the coop in a few weeks.