Emergency! Is the brooder box outside safe?

[Sanderguy777]

Last time I had the chicks in my living room. Never again!

This time I had the idea to put them in a 2x4 foot, 2 foot tall plywood box outside. Fully enclosed and ready to go.

Now I have them, I realize that im worried not about heat (I have a heat lamp), but about OVERHEATING them. It's gonna be 90 today with 50%+ humidity .

Should I cut vents and cover them in hardware cloth? Should I keep them inside my unventelated garage, or should I just leave them alone because they're fine. I need to know by lunch so I can run home and fix it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you have a very valid worry. How many do you have and how old are they?

I brood outside. My brooder is big enough I can heat one side with a heat lamp but with good ventilation the far side can cool to ambient temperature. Yours isn't that big and it sounds like ventilation is not great.

So what can you do? Can you just turn that heat lamp off at lunchtime? If it is close to 90F even newly hatched chicks a couple of days old should be OK. What is the wattage of your bulb? Can you switch it for a smaller wattage bulb. Can you position the heat lamp outside the brooder where it is only heating a small area inside the brooder.

I'd be a lot more concerned with overheating them than letting them get a bit cool.

 

[Sanderguy777]

I think you have a very valid worry. How many do you have and how old are they?

I brood outside. My brooder is big enough I can heat one side with a heat lamp but with good ventilation the far side can cool to ambient temperature. Yours isn't that big and it sounds like ventilation is not great.

So what can you do? Can you just turn that heat lamp off at lunchtime? If it is close to 90F even newly hatched chicks a couple of days old should be OK. What is the wattage of your bulb? Can you switch it for a smaller wattage bulb. Can you position the heat lamp outside the brooder where it is only heating a small area inside the brooder.

I'd be a lot more concerned with overheating them than letting them get a bit cool.

I don't have a heater at all at the moment. I have, but it's this https://a.co/d/bGyJMrt


Overheating is definitely my biggest worry. They have been spread out every time I saw them, but i came home at lunch and added a second roof to the brooder too keep more rain and sun off (heat hits it, then about 2" of air and breeze hits before that heat gets to the actual lid). I'll post a picture of what I mean.