Im worried about the power going out...

[Egg Rookie 2010]

There is snow predicted the next 2 days which is freaky for here. Power outages are expected as Im quite rural. Im worried about my 3 week old babies upstairs in the brooder box with no heat lamp and no heater in the house. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[4-H chicken mom]

One way you can get prepared is to put the brooder in the smallest room possible. Close the door, cover any windows with blankets. Start getting the room warm when the snow starts. I have used candles in coffee cans to provide some heat. I use a screen over the top of my brooder than cover most of it with cardboard or a blanket to help keep their body heat in. Losing electric is a pain in the rear when having baby chicks. Good luck I'll be right there with you as we too are expecting a lot of snow here as well.

 

[bock]

I am worried too! I have 25 2 day old chicks in the barn right now. It is only about 35-40 degrees in there. I am worried it will go out at night and I won't know until it is too late.

Fingers crossed the power won't go out!

 

[azygous]

I've had experience with just this event.

I also live rural and power during storms is an iffy proposition, and sometimes it can last for half a day or longer before the power company gets the outage resolved.

So when the power went out when I had six two-week olds in a brooder in the back bedroom, I quickly filled a couple of half-gallon milk jugs with hot water and I placed them in the brooder.

It not only maintained a very warm temperature, but at one point, I noticed some of the chicks panting. I removed one of the jugs and the chicks were then more comfortable.

Everyone has a hot water heater, and if you keep some empty milk jugs for this emergency, you won't ever need to fear the power going out and your babies suffering.

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
I'm in the Pacific Northwest, and we've been getting snow the last two days. The power was off near us yesterday, but ours stayed on. So far, anyway! Thank goodness we have a generator, but I'd be on my own because my DH is in Phoenix for the NASCAR race.

I have a couple suggestions: Go buy a bunch of the Hot Hands hand warmers. You could put several of them in with the chicks. Remember, you really don't need to heat the entire brooder -- you just need to give them something to cuddle up with to stay warm. That's why they use the hot packs in the shipping boxes for day-old chicks.

Also, if you have a fireplace, you can set the brooder next to that. Just monitor the temperature so you don't broil the little guys.

 

[bock]

That's a good idea! In the past, I have warmed up rice in socks. They could sit on it if they wanted to, but it cooled off fast. It definitely would not last the entire night. If it does go out, I will be sure to go rescue them!

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

Im grateful for these good ideas!