Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Missa Chickabee]

I only have 5 new baby chicks that are still in the incubator but will come out tonight. Is there anything I can use other than the 250w red light that will keep them warm?

Haven't read through to the end of the thread yet. Busy w/e. I found red heat bulbs at 150 watts from Amazon. The 250 got too hot for my chicks no matter how high I raised the bulb cage.

 

[Beekissed]

I've used a 65 watt bulb in a gooseneck reading lamp to keep chicks warm before...when only dealing with 5 chicks, it can be that easy.

 

[bruceh]

Haven't read through to the end of the thread yet. Busy w/e. I found red heat bulbs at 150 watts from Amazon. The 250 got too hot for my chicks no matter how high I raised the bulb cage.

very simple fix. if you want go to home depot . they have those same lights they sell at tractor supply and the magazines for poultry. go to the light bulb section a buy a 75 to 100 watt light bulb. you can probably find one in red .
brooder temps do not have to be at 95. in fact in a plastic tub it is warm. if you create a hot environment it may create pasty butt along with other not so nice things.

i just finished brooding 32 cornish rocks in a 7' x 4' brooder with 1 heat light that was placed 3' above the ground and moved to 4 ft the ground a week later. not one loss, not one pasty butt, not 1 sick chick.
i have brooded many a chick in those same plastic tubs with pine shavings, waterer and feeder with the light on only at night and i used a 100 watt light bulb. i have not lost a chick yet. however i lost 5 freedom rangers at 3 weeks because they drowned.when they went outside in the grow out pen and did not go in the shelter area during a hard rain.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I've used a 65 watt bulb in a gooseneck reading lamp to keep chicks warm before...when only dealing with 5 chicks, it can be that easy.

I used a 65 watt bulb on a drop light for 7 chicks this past spring when my broody became seriously ill and I had to take the eggs from her on day 20. It worked great. After they grew a bit and didn't need as much heat, I changed the bulb to a 40 watt. Super easy. Those chicks have grown into the smartest and most robust chickens I've had to date. (Surprising, since I've always thought that chicks raised by a broody hen would be the smartest.)

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven't been able to find red incandescent light bulbs other than 250 infrared heat bulbs since spring 2011. They have been taking many bulbs off the market since congress has started going to energy saving fluorescent bulbs (the 100 watt incandescents are off the market now with the 75 watt next to go.) Last year I could find 60 watt reds, but now they are gone. You can find a 25 watt fluorescent "partybulb" for $5 that doesn't produce much heat. The last USA factory that made incandescent bulbs closed last year (on NBC News.) All spring-summer long my local TSC was out of the red 250's during chick season (they said they were on backorder.) When I first got chicks I could switch from a red bulb to a regular bulb and they would act crazy and start pecking at one another. It just seems like someone out there could still manufacture a small wattage red light for brooding chicks so that you don't have to raise that 250 watt one up to the ceiling to make things cooler. I realize some people just use regular ones but the red light is more calming and lets them sleep without pecking each other. Thank heavens for broody hens.

 

[NYREDS]

Well now that was weird!! I hit the button once and it posted 4 times. ????

How long have you had that twitch?

 

[NotAFarm]

While a bit pricey, the Brinsea Ecoglow is a great investment if you want to raise chicks without a light. They don't use as much electricity as the heat bulbs, there is no fire hazard, and from the beginning it is dark at night like nature. The chicks instictively go under it like they would a broody. After selling a saddle I not longer needed, I splurged and got the "50" to raise my meaties under. I love it....... The Freedom Rangers I have did make a mess on the top by roosting there as they got a bit older but it is easy to clean off.

http://www.brinsea.com/prod-EcoGlow_50_Chick_Brooder-256.aspx

 

[NYREDS]

Maybe we could hire Brad Pitt to do a shirtless documentary on the safe practice of eating unwashed farm fresh eggs?

I'd watch it....

That would put me right off my eggs!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

The first chicks I ordered I didn't know anything about red lights and all the calming stuff. I just used regular lamp bulbs in a reading lamp and they were all as calm as chicks normally are...no pecking each other and such things. Just eating, drinking and running around...lots of sleeping...but no pecking each other.

I used the red bulbs with this year's CX and found the bulbs really get hot...too hot. I really didn't like that level of heat at all and really had to keep the light pointed towards one cornerl of the brooder to keep it from making the CX into Cornish Game Hens, sizzling and succulent. The brooder was very large and outside in pretty cold temps, so it kind of balanced all that heat but I don't believe I'll ever use that kind of bulb again.

 

[Loghousemom]

Wow, you all keep this thread moving!

Bee, thank you for your responses to my questions about my coup area! It is great advice and I am heading to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up a few things to redo the roosts and see if I can figure out a way to mount that other nest box. I have had 4 eggs from the original chicks in the last few days and they do have their favorite boxes already.

(I am STILL catching up on reading, so I just now saw your response. I think I am still 50 pages to current)