First Chicks - Garage Brooder

[Catastrophi]

Hello everyone! I'm getting my first chicks in two weeks and wanted to make sure I have everything in order. I'll have 8 chicks I'll be picking up on 2/17/23.

My plan is to keep the 10 chicks in my home for the first two weeks or so in a large rubbermaid container with a 12"x12" brooder plate heater.

After two weeks or so I plan to transfer them to a brooder I built in my garage which will be 4.5' L x 2.5' W x 18" Tall until they are ready for the outdoor coop. My concern is that the garage is uninsulated / unheated. Temperatures will probably drop into the 50s at night. Will the brooder plate heater be enough? or will I need to supplement with a heat lamp?

 

[Ridgerunner]

In those temperatures that heat plate should work fine. I don't see any need for the heat lamp.

I don't know how any chicks the manufacturer says that heat plate will handle, but they are talking about just hatched chicks. Your chicks will be a lot bigger but whether it is 8 or 10 chicks, they should fit.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

If your brooder is on the floor, be sure there is a lot of insulation between the chicks and the cold concrete. A brooder plate would not keep them warm enough if they were on a cold floor.

 

[Catastrophi]

In those temperatures that heat plate should work fine. I don't see any need for the heat lamp.

I don't know how any chicks the manufacturer says that heat plate will handle, but they are talking about just hatched chicks. Your chicks will be a lot bigger but whether it is 8 or 10 chicks, they should fit.

The manufacturer says 20 chicks... But I doubt that many when they get bigger

If your brooder is on the floor, be sure there is a lot of insulation between the chicks and the cold concrete. A brooder plate would not keep them warm enough if they were on a cold floor.

It'll be in an elevated wooden box essentially so they won't be on the cold floor!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

The manufacturer says 20 chicks... But I doubt that many when they get bigger

It's usually about 1/2 the amount the manufacturer claims. So probably about 10 chicks. I'm assuming you're able to adjust the height as they grow? As they get bigger, they'll use it less, but mine slept under or on top of theirs until 5.5 weeks (when I moved them to coop).

 

[rosemarythyme]

My plan is to keep the 10 chicks in my home for the first two weeks or so in a large rubbermaid container with a 12"x12" brooder plate heater.

After two weeks or so I plan to transfer them to a brooder I built in my garage which will be 4.5' L x 2.5' W x 18" Tall until they are ready for the outdoor coop. My concern is that the garage is uninsulated / unheated. Temperatures will probably drop into the 50s at night. Will the brooder plate heater be enough? or will I need to supplement with a heat lamp?

I'd scrap the brooding in the house idea. For 10 chicks, the brooder you built is a good size to start with, so I'd start in the garage right off the bat.

Your temperatures in the garage are better than mine when I start chicks outdoors (lows in 40s). Brooder plates should work fine in the 50s, but double check the instructions that came with your plate for more info.

 

[thlayli]

I brooded mine in the garage right off the bat, as soon as they were dry. We heated the garage at night to keep it in the 40s and turned it off during the day when they had sun. I will never, ever brood my birds inside again lol. They did just fine in a dog crate with wood shavings and the brooder, although I turned it into a cave with a towel. (I also skirted the crate with hardware cloth so they couldnt just....leave) They huddled under it when they were cold but were out and about most of the time. I was able to move then into the coop at about 5 weeks.

 

[Demarvell]

I'd scrap the brooding in the house idea. For 10 chicks, the brooder you built is a good size to start with, so I'd start in the garage right off the bat.

Your temperatures in the garage are better than mine when I start chicks outdoors (lows in 40s). Brooder plates should work fine in the 50s, but double check the instructions that came with your plate for more info.

Hmmm, can't do that here in S.E. Idaho. It's 13 degrees outside and that's a heatwave after last week! Have to do mine in the back bedroom, in a big tub.

 

[Catastrophi]

It's usually about 1/2 the amount the manufacturer claims. So probably about 10 chicks. I'm assuming you're able to adjust the height as they grow? As they get bigger, they'll use it less, but mine slept under or on top of theirs until 5.5 weeks (when I moved them to coop).

Yes it's the kind that has 4 adjustable feet.

I'd scrap the brooding in the house idea. For 10 chicks, the brooder you built is a good size to start with, so I'd start in the garage right off the bat.

Your temperatures in the garage are better than mine when I start chicks outdoors (lows in 40s). Brooder plates should work fine in the 50s, but double check the instructions that came with your plate for more info.

do you think I'd be able to keep the chickens in the brooder until they're ready for the coop? I'm hoping not to have to get a bigger brooder! lol

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Hello everyone! I'm getting my first chicks in two weeks and wanted to make sure I have everything in order. I'll have 8 chicks I'll be picking up on 2/17/23.

My plan is to keep the 10 chicks in my home for the first two weeks or so in a large rubbermaid container with a 12"x12" brooder plate heater.

After two weeks or so I plan to transfer them to a brooder I built in my garage which will be 4.5' L x 2.5' W x 18" Tall until they are ready for the outdoor coop. My concern is that the garage is uninsulated / unheated. Temperatures will probably drop into the 50s at night. Will the brooder plate heater be enough? or will I need to supplement with a heat lamp?

It's been a crawl, walk, run for me over 20years. I started chicks in the house, then I started them in the garage, now I start them outdoors. For my garage phase, I had same as you uninsulated and night temps as low as *35. I've always used a mama hut (plate is great too,) but I will admit that I added a ceramic heat lamp over my brooder (which is a pre-fab coop, in my opinion pre-fabs are only fit for chicks, not full grown hens.) For the first few days I like the ambient temp to stay at *70. So, it's really up to you, whatever lower's your concern, stress level, do it. Just keep 2 thermometers going - one for the ambient temp, one for under the heat plate. ENJOY!!