I have way to many chicks

[Party_Chicken]

I have two 7 week old EE's that I'm pretty sure are both cockerels that I hatched out on Christmas. I also have three chicks I bought from rural king on January 27th. I've got the smaller chicks in my brooder and the cockerels in a bucket both in the garage. This is working fine in the mean time but I have a dozen frizzled Cochins in my incubator. The EEs are off the heat plate so they could move outside into my extra coop but I'm scared they can't keep warm in the Virginia weather if theirs only two of them. Could I also put the bantams in with the three chicks or would the bigger ones hurt them? I also only have one heat plate. What should I do?

 

[LaurelC]

Why did you do this if you knew you didn't have the space? Sounds like it's time to buy a second heat plate or a heat lamp. The cockerels should be fine to be outside at 7 weeks.

 

[Party_Chicken]

My mom surprised me with the bantams I couldn't turn them down.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Buy another heat plate

 

[Party_Chicken]

What would be better for the cold heat plate or heat lamp?

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

What would be better for the cold heat plate or heat lamp?

How big is the space?

 

[WoDia]

^^ What @Pampered chicken girl suggests. I use radiant heat panels for chicken coops. Minimizes the fire risk, and your cockerels can cozy up against them if they need supplemental warmth.

 

[NatJ]

What would be better for the cold heat plate or heat lamp?

Check the label on the heat plate-- many of them say to use only in places warmer than 50 degrees (or some other number, they don't all match.)

Heat lamp can be used in any temperature, just keep lowering it until you get an area warm enough. If you lower it so far the chicks will bump their heads, raise it a bit and add a second heat lamp next to it-- but that would only happen in a very cold place indeed (probably below zero fahrenheit.)

With a heat lamp, it is very important to have a cool area as well as the heated area. So put the heat lamp in one corner or end of the brooder, and make sure the other end is much cooler (below 80 is fine, all the way down to freezing is also fine. Above 80 is probably not cool enough for the "cool" area.) Chicks will self-regulate their heat by moving back and forth from one temperature to another, but can die if they are forced to stay in the heated area all the time.

 

[Party_Chicken]

How big is the space?

Its a big box built to keep them until there 8-10 weeks I currently have a heat plate in there. I don't know if I have the dimensions but I might have a picture of the brooder.

 

[1Slayer]

I did the same thing last season...I hatched way too many
How much longer for the the cochens to hatch? If it's very soon you can probably add them to the January 27 ones..
I also put 2 big plastic totes together, I cut a hole / doorway for them to go into each side..and placed heating pads under wee- wee pads and it was enough to keep them warm. I did also use a lamp during the colder days.