Help me with my brooder vs ecoglow50 !!!

[3ChickensinNC]

I posted this on my home state thread, but thought I would post here to get even more ideas/help. I need some insight from others on my brooder vs ecoglow 50. I got it yesterday in the mail and it is BIG. I am wondering if I should return it and get the smaller one. If I do that it only holds 20 chicks and I have 26 coming, so that is why I went big. So I took some pictures of my brooder with the ecoglow, feeder, and waterer to show different set up ideas with the big ecoglow and wanted to know if that is going to be too cramped the first few weeks for 26 chicks. In the last picture you will see off to the right I have another brooder that we are going to connect the two when they get bigger so there will be more room when we move them for inside to the shed with the ecoglow.

I would like to know 1) should I return and get the smaller one. 2) If not which set up should I use (see picture one, two, three)? So let me know what you all think and any ideas, any help. Thanks

Picture One:


Picture Two:


Picture Three:

Here is the picture of the second brooder to the right that we plan to use when they move to the shed when bigger, just need to figure out how to connect the two:

 

[Happy Chooks]

Keep the 50. I have the 20 and once they get a bit bigger it's harder to cover that many chicks (and I had 11 on my last hatch)

Any of the set up's will work fine, but put a paper towel down or something so the floor isn't slippery.

 

[the_great_snag]

Definitely keep the 50. Never give up capacity, especially if it's paid for! You will soon be getting a crash course on chicken math... trust me.

Also I would highly recommend using the trough feeder. Those round ones are a royal PITA to re-fill as you must wait until they are empty before you can take them apart without a big mess. You also need to leave the chicks sufficient room to walk around the feeders and waterers, otherwise they will walk over them, pooping as they go...

I like to raise my feeders and waterers up as the chicks grow. Keep them high enough that your birds can comfortably reach, but no lower. That will decrease the amount of poop and litter they can kick into their feeders.

 

[psycoforsilkies]

Keep it that is plenty of room I converted 2 of my brooders over to eco glow 50 and they are awsome, no more fire hazard, no worry on blub breaking, and i dont have to adjust the heat or height of the bulb and my chicks love them and when they start to sleep on top I know they are ready for the brooder that has a light just at night in case of cold. we love our eco glow not to mention it saves so much electricity. and pays for it self in a few short weeks.

 

[3ChickensinNC]

Thanks for all the valuable information. It really helps being a newbie. Great ideas. I have noted them all in my chicken book

. Keep them coming. I did go to two local feed stores today and I restrained myself. One had ducks, GLW, and BS. The other had white leghorns, but this store next week will have easter eggers. I think we will stop by and get two so we can learn in small number how to care for them and wont go crazy when the big patch arrives. I wanted some color in our basket anyway.

 

[gardendufus]

Aaaaahhhh - the first symptoms of chicken math. Quickly..........walk AWAY from the brooder.

 

[featherz]

that's about the size of my brooder. definitely keep the 50!! the 20 will be too small!