Is this brooder look right?

[Vannahen]

Hi second year hen mama, I am overly paranoid as my chicks and hens are my pets, do they look comfortable? No panting or loud chirps, also no huddling. 250 red watt lamp. 6 chicks.
Do they look comfortable & happy? Eating and drinking as normal. Thank you

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Hi second year hen mama, I am overly paranoid as my chicks and hens are my pets, do they look comfortable? No panting or loud chirps, also no huddling. 250 red watt lamp. 6 chicks.
Do they look comfortable & happy? Eating and drinking as normal. Thank you

A wide box that when your chicks are very small can have an area blocked off, and then opened up for more space as they develop, is perfect. You will also decide how tall you want your walls, in addition to the floor space for your chickens. Ideal brooders have sides about two feet tall

 

[Vannahen]

They look happy to me! I would put a thermometer at the bottom of the brooder box so you can see the temps. I would’ve been worried to see all of them underneath it, but seeing as one of them is chilling off to the side and that they’re all drinking and eating they seem to look good!

I would definitely add hardware cloth over the top of the bin though. The clamp of heat lamps are usually not as strong as they seem. They will slowly slide off whatever you clamped them on. If that lamp falls it can either injure one of your chicks or even start a fire, with the guard or not.

Thank you!! Yes I’ve got a second wire holding the lamp now!!
thank you!!

 

[ShannonR]

They look too hot. They are all stacked into the furthest corner away from that enormous light you have

 

[Chickassan]

Agree with @ShannonR those 250watt bulbs are like an oven.
No kidding, hang distance was nearly 5 ft above the brooder floor here to maintain constant 95 and I brood in a mesh sided dog playpen.

 

[Show Sebright]

Keep an eye on them once they start getting their feathers in. My girls that just moved outside flew out at 3 weeks and my brooder was a 100-gallon horse trough!

 

[sealer39]

I agree with the above. Those 250w bulbs can easily flood that box with too much heat. I use one but my brooder is about 2’x4’, the walls are made of hardware cloth, and the brooder is outside. Just make sure, using a thermometer, that the chicks can get away from the heat if they want. My heat ranged from 95 degrees down to whatever the outside temp was at the time, maybe 40 degrees some nights on the opposite side from the lamp. My chicks never slept directly under the lamp, they always huddled up somewhere away from the heat. A laser thermometer is a very useful tool when using a heat bulb that powerful.
It looks like your brooder is in a closet? If so, consider using the cardboard box as the floor with paper towels as the bedding. That will give them more room to get away from the heat if needed. You can cut a piece of hardware cloth to wedge into the door frame to act as a wall to keep the chicks in.

 

[sealer39]

Also, I saw at Tractor Supply yesterday a two pack of 150w red lamps for $7.99. One of those may be better suited for your brooder set up.