If power goes out, no heat lamp. What to do?

[handmommy]

We have a bad storm - and we live in an area that 'always' loses power. Our chicks our 7 days old. If the power goes out tonight, what should we do about their heat lamp?? Will I be bringing chicks into bed with me to keep them warm!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

after the third hurricane in one summer living inflorida I brokedown and bought a generator, just a small one to keep my freezer frozen, good buy at costco, esp since there were two more that year. It came in handy building the cabin in themountains too,you can also get alternate energy heatrs too,if loosing power is a problem I'd spring for the generator

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

after the third hurricane in one summer living inflorida I brokedown and bought a generator, just a small one to keep my freezer frozen, good buy at costco, esp since there were two more that year. It came in handy building the cabin in themountains too,you can also get alternate energy heatrs too,if loosing power is a problem I'd spring for the generator

also thou for tonight just provide a draft free area for themwith deep bedding they will huddle togther and stay warm

 

[fried green eggs]

Can you cover brooder with a blanket to keep more of their heat in? Just leave a small area w/o cover and they should be fine. We lose power often from storms and a generator is a necessity.

 

[kmatt87]

i have a fireplace and i was going to start a fire and move the brooder (they're in a tub) into the house in front of the fire place if needed.

 

[Ole rooster]

If you have a fire place you can always do what the old folks did for cold feet in winter. Heat up an old steel iron and wrap in a small towel for the chicks. It will be better than nothing. Plus with just a little heat the will huddle together for warmth. My house generator was stolen but I do have a 5500 in my fifth wheel. Lucky me.

 

[handmommy]

Thanks everyone! They made it. As soon as I finished typing this thread, the power went out. It was out for like 4 hours. We first used an oil lamp (the ones we use for camping) and I had it in their brooder and sat with them. (Didn't want a fire to start!) But three of them huddled up next to the lamp and slept but one silly girl wouldn't let me go. I had my hand in there and she'd come force it open and climb in. If I took it out, she'd scream. Yeah, so I ended up staying with her for more than an hour. Then I needed some sleep and took the lamp out. I put hand warmers in socks and put them on the floor of the brooder. I went back to check on them and they were all huddled up, sound asleep, on the hand warmers. About an hour after that, the power came back on. They're happy! It was just so dang cold last night that I worried about them. Oh, I also had put a blanket around the bin (brooder) and one partially over the top. We mananged to keep them alive and happy because as soon as the power came on and all the lights came on, I woke up to happy little chirps! Thanks for the advice!! Oh, and yes, I plan on getting a generator. Power outages are a major problem for us -- heck, a squirrel runs across the line and we're out for hours.

 

[handmommy]

In fact, the one that had to snuggle with me, is my profile pic. I guess she's mine, huh?

 

[cva34]

What we used back when.was a Kerosene lantern.I still have one for back up.Hang it just off floor 1/2 in or so with wire so it cannot be tipped..Remember do not turn wick up too high it will smoke .Remember its fire and treat it like a fire haz...Chicks will huddle around it..When I was Kid that's what we used to raise all our chicks and we raised 300 to 500 a year.If I remember right they advertised them on radio $1.99 a100 (Cockerels)shipped to you by mail for $2.00 more.Now your lucky to buy 1 for $1.99....cva34

 

[albert w]

Here, in Iowa, we're pretty famous for losing power. In addition to our big generator for the house, I have a small generator that was fairly cheap. It has a two-cycle engine that is not as loud as I expected. I got it from Northern Tool or one of those type of discount tool stores. 900 watt peek for $90. It's a fairly cheap investment for the protection it gives you and I find myself using it for a million different uses. Pop bottle gives an idea of the size.