Is this a workable plan??

[possumqueen]

You can make a little hover out of that -- that -- (oh, rats! my brain is reminding me yet again that I'm old (er)

Anyway, it's some kind of insulating stuff -- bubble wrap with tinfoil coating. You can shape it into a little curtain with slits in it, hang it around a light bulb and suspend it just a couple inches off the floor of a cardboard box. The chicks will certainly learn to duck in and out under it, and it will give them a nice place to snuggle.

I hope that makes sense. The holidays are messing with my head. It's NOT the gray!

 

[topeka]

I went to the barn with my little plans and measurements. Had all the right tools. Everything went smooth had a nice base built.
took it inside to place it in the rubbermaid.....it was an inch too big

.......... back to the barn

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Measure twice cut once

 

[mandelyn]

I use a heat lamp, just a 60w bulb if they're in the house. I use a wooden box to brood in, the first 4 weeks a solid wood top (with vents), after that a screen with the light on top instead of inside. It retains heat really nicely, even inside an unheated room like they're in now. I place a board across the center of the box, to hang the light from, so I can increase the distance to the brooder floor as they need less heat the older they get.

With the heat lamp... if the bulb goes bad, I can replace it in 5 seconds. If the thermostat on an incubator lid goes.... you have to buy another? And add a heat lamp in the meantime while you work a repair to the incubator. As the need for heat decreases... how high can the incubator lid be lifted to remove some heat, without chilling them too much? The bonus of a bulb is that it directs heat and you can set it up the way you want it going. I use a mechanics light fixture, that has a solid metal back and a caged front. The caged front faces the "brooding" area and directs most of the heat there, the metal back faces the food and water area, to make it a little cooler on that side. I don't think the incubator lid would heat as hot as they need it for the first two weeks.

It may be excellent for lower heat when they're older, though that's when they want to peck styrofoam too. For me, it sounds more complicated than it needs to be since a lightbulb plugged into a wall and hung over/in the brooder works just fine. All you need is a safety cage around the bulb to keep the chicks off of it, or place it out of their reach if it's a high enough wattage to heat from farther away.

 

[Chic Chick]

Quote:
For the first week or so I brood the chicks in a long glass aquarium with a 100W bulb hung about a foot above the floor. That's more then enough heat for them and the other cooler side is where I put the food and water. You can see the light where the bulb is on the left hand side. There's no chance of a fire and the worst thing that can happen is the bulb burn out, but the chicks will let you know if they get cold. I sell my first few hatches usually within the week - the ones I keep are moved out to the garage under a heat lamp when they get too stinky...lol

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

We just did a winter hatch, with a 100% success rate, I might add.

Now some say wait until they all hatch out before moving them to a brooder, but I moved mine immediately from the incubator to the brooder as soon as each one cleared its shell and still wet. The first brooder was simply a cardboard box lined with straw and a heat lamp with a 60 w light bulb camped to the side of the box, kept in the living room. The lamp kept the temp in the box a nice 90-93°F. In just one short week, they started to get a bit messy with the water so last week they graduated from the cardboard box to a big opaque Rubbermaid container (again lined with straw and cleaned daily), but with a 40w light bulb this time, as the 60w was now making it too warm for them. But within days, try as I might to keep everything clean, the dander was really starting to play havoc with our allergies and asthma, so they had to go.

So yesterday, with the temps in the single digits, they were moved out to the unheated barn at the tender age of 3 weeks (to the day)….and they couldn’t be better!

They are in a big metal stock tank, with the inside bottom of the tank lined with straw and most of the top and outsides of the tank covered with an old blanket. I have two boards running the top length of the tank with chicken wire stapled to them to act as a simple lid to keep the adult chickens and ducks out of the tank, and to keep the blanket from falling in. Now the top section right around where the heat lamp is attached is not covered with a blanket in order to: 1) not catch on fire, and 2) to provide fresh air for the babies. I admit I was still pretty worried about them freezing to death so I was running back and forth all day and night, checking on them every half hour, freezing my tush off in the process.

But at 4:30 am this morning, when the temp outside was a brisk 7°F and the wind chill was -4°F, I found the temp under the lamp was staying steady at 91°F, and the far end of the tank a toasty 73°F, and they were spending most of their time running back and forth, rarely ever going under the light where it was the warmest. They love all the room they have now, and seeing how warm and happy they were, I was finally able to go to bed at 5:00 am this morning, content in knowing they wouldn't freeze while I slept.

I’ve checked on them off and on all day, and in fact just got back in from checking on them again, and the temp in the tank is still toasty (outside temp is 16°F, with a windchill of 6°F) and they are still doing great.

And I'm already planning on my next hatch!

 

[cluck-addict]

Quote:
My husband would sincerely have a stroke. he had a fit when I HATCHED eggs in the guest room. OMgoodness. How fun would that be to keep them right close and safe in the house.
FUN!