INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[animallover2202]

Awesome! So glad to hear it. I just hate to see anyone lose their birds.The adult birds will be ok, we have had really low temps, in the negatives, and all of mine are fine.As long as they are ventilated and dry you should be ok.

i hope so ive already lost to many this winter

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Adult feathered birds are usually cold tolerant of course depending on the breed. The main thing is proper ventilation for them. Clean and dry are key things to help them stay warm. Babies need our help to maintain their body temps..If you hold a chicken think of how warm, almost hot they feel. The chicks need that.For their first week, they need at 95 degrees.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Please PM me, anytime i want to help you. I was so totally lost until i found BYC.

 

[rsutr101]

Cluck juat make as many holes in the flats aa you can so the air flows freely and you should be ok with that many egga in there your bator wont run as much becauae of the heat they will produce

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

what can i use to keep my babys warm instead of a heat light??????????????? were trying to cut down on our electricity

You can get by with a lower watt bulb.Right now I am using 125 watts in two brooders and 2 60 watt bulbs in a larger brooder.
How draft free is your brooder? I have three converted pet cage brooders in my chicken house and the outdoor temp was 13 here yesterday. The chicks were toasty warm, but a bucket of water set next to the brooders was iced over.

I have a Brower Brooder (see pic) and 2 more professional brooders (woot, Craigslist!) but I usually just use large pet cages like you can get at the pet stores for rabbits and guinea pigs. I like being able to constantly see the chicks and the I haven't rigged the brooders up yet so that I can ( thinking plexi-glass tops).


To convert the pet cages:
I attach hardware cloth to the bottom of the metal frame section of the cage to create a wire floor. Then I set the frame back on the deep plastic tray. I think the chicks do better when the droppings can fall through the wire. For day old chicks I put a couple of paper towels on the wire for the first few days. I don't cover all the wire, just one area where they will be laying down. I also sprinkle food there for new babies just to get them started.

To keep the chicks warm using a lower watt bulb, I use heavy mil plastic or vinyl sheeting that is sold for window weather-proofing. You can simply drape it around the cage, or use duct tape or zip ties to custom fit it, but not air-tight. Keep in mind that having the chicks in a more closed in area means that you need to keep on top of cleaning the droppings tray, so as to keep their air fresh. When the weather warms you can lift parts of the sheeting to let more heat escape, or just use a lower watt bulb.

The best way to tell if your chicks are comfortable is by observing them. If they are huddled under the light the brooder is too cool. If they are eating, drinking and wandering around the brooder you have it just right. You can also hear the difference between cold or warm chicks!

If your brooder is in an outbuilding or garage try to quietly enter so that you don't startle the chicks. That way you can watch their behavior to see how they act.

I like to look through the window of the chicken house to see mine before I open the door. When they hear the door open they all freeze in place until they realize it's safe to move again.

As always, make sure whatever watt bulb you use, that you have the lamp secured in at least two ways. I love zip ties for this.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

I meant to suggest that you can find the pet cages on craigslist or goodwill for a fraction of their "new" cost.

 

[CluckAcres]

Cluck juat make as many holes in the flats aa you can so the air flows freely and you should be ok with that many egga in there your bator wont run as much becauae of the heat they will produce

I have holes in all the flats. Just like how the top one is in pic.

 

[animallover2202]

i brought in the chicken light and the temp is between 98-108 is that ok for them i dont want to cook them

 

[pbirdhaven]

Because I generally don't hatch more than 15-20 chicks at a time and brood in my basement, I start them out in the long transparent storage tubs (not more than 7 or 8 to a tub), put a wire screen over the top, paper towel in the bottom, and use 75 watt bulb rather than a heat lamp bulb. The plastic tub helps to conserve the heat. I also use the smaller work lights that you can find at Wal-mart rather than the big heat lamps; they have an off-on switch so I'm not always plugging and unplugging. I keep the lamp at one end of the tub and the food and water at the other. I like the paper towel because I can change it easily every day; after about five days I switch them to shavings.
As they begin to outgrow the tub, I move them to 50 gallon tubs and they generally are feathered out enough that they don't need the exra heat, and from there to plastic kiddie pools with hardward cloth wrapped tightly around the outside to make a fence. I tried cage wire instead of hardware cloth, but it left gaps that they could fall through between the edge of the pool and the wire. The kiddie pool can handle about 4 youngsters and is easy to clean with a broom and dust pan, then sanitized with Textrol or whatever sanitizing agent you use. I can sometimes get pools with a split in them for $2 or $3 from RK; gorilla tape takes care of the split. Also people often throw them out at the end of summer.
In summer I can set the "fence" out on the grass, put the kiddie pool on top, weight it down, and let some of my cooped birds enjoy the grass safely.
And my polish stay outside in a coop all winter with no problem; they're more cold hardy than one would think. Keeping the crest out of the water and giving them nice bedding does the trick. My white pair has a dog house in their pen, and unless it's super cold, they'll roost on top of it rather than inside it.

 

[Crafty chick]

Hey, just wondering about incubating. Going to try it, so I didnt know if storing them on the counter before putting them in an incubator is fine. I am going to build an incubator, and only have 2 hens laying. The roo has been busy, so Iam pretty sure they are fertile. Since I only have 2 laying, that means I can only have 14 in the incubator at a time? It gives me a week to gather supplies and test it. Any thoughts? The eggs are getting bigger too, not so "pullety".