Lots of Brooder Questions!!!

[orloffer]

Also heating plates vs Heat lamps is a big question for me.

I highly recommend heating plates--they have always worked well for me, and are safer than heat lamps. However, the number of chicks that the labels say can fit under the plate is almost always overestimated.

 

[black_cat]

This is what I use for a brooder:
View attachment 2293327
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It's just a large plastic tub with holes drilled in the lid. The small holes trap heat in while letting air in and out so the chicks can breath. It is cat proof, my 15 pound cat (yes, I know she is overweight) has jumped on the lid with no problems. My other cat, who tries to hunt the chicks, can't find anywhere to reach in and grab them. The heat plate makes it heavy enough that the cats can't knock it over.

The tub can hold a lot of chicks, I just recently had 20 baby chicks in there (only for a week). Based on how many chicks you have and what size they are, you can keep them in there for up to month. You probably wont need anything to stabilize the water if you use shavings. The shavings do a good job of keeping the waterer in place.

That looks great, super similar to what I'd like to do! I'm only getting 4 chicks at minimum, 8 at max, so that should be a good amount of space, at least for a while. My problem is once they get big! I will definitely be using shavings, so I hope that you guys are right and there won't be any waterer problems. Thank you for the advice!

 

[black_cat]

I highly recommend heating plates--they have always worked well for me, and are safer than heat lamps. However, the number of chicks that the labels say can fit under the plate is almost always overestimated.

What's a good estimate for how many they can ACTUALLY hold? 1/2 of the label? 1/4?

 

[black_cat]

I converted a shipping crate into my brooder it is one of the best thing I've done

Wow, that looks great! Unfortunately, I don't have a shipping crate and I don't see a situation where one would arrive. I was thinking about a dog crate brooder, but then I realized that the cat could reach his paw in.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

Thank you for the help! No, I'm not raising broilers. I was wondering about too much space because I thought that they might wander away from the heat, then die because they're too cold. I might give them a roost either way, for my own enjoyment, but thank you for the help on when you actually need it! About the daylight cycle thing: If they are kept inside, would I want to turn out the light in the room that they're in when it gets dark? They would probably be in a walk in closet (there's PLENTY of space in there where I could put a brooder) because that's the space that's easiest to cat proof. There are no windows in there, so no natural light. Thank you so much for the help! The chicks wouldn't be coming until the spring (the earliest hatch that is offered) but my brain insists that I have everything meticulously researched and planned about 43 years before it happens. I'm so excited for chicks though!

Since they will get no natural light, yes turn on a light to replicate day, and turn it off at night.

 

[TwoShepherds]

Brooding chicks is so much fun. I think you are going to love it.

I use a Premiere 1 heat plate and think it's great. I had originally planned on using a lamp because that's what most of my books and other sources suggested. Then I started reading online reviews of heat lamps and people saying that it set their coop/garage/house on fire. I was happy to learn about heat plates (thank you BYC)!
I like that there is less risk of fire. Also the chicks have a more natural day/night rest cycle and you can set it at a slant so one side is higher and the other is lower so that the chicks can move to areas of more or less heat. For me the only con was the price.

Some people also make their own Mama heating pad.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

Last year I brooded my chicks in a wire dog kennel (3 ft x 4 ft) in the garage. I lined the outside with hardware cloth to keep the chicks inside and to protect them from my cat (that spends a lot of time in the garage). When the chicks got bigger I put them into an extra large ex-pen lined with cardboard and a week or two after that moved them into the coop.

This year I brooded nine chicks in a 6 ft x 4 ft small animal enclosure/playpen I bought on Amazon. I think the size was just about perfect. The item itself was hard to clean and flimsy--but it was pretty cheap, so I guess you get what you pay for. I put the heat plate in the center with the food and water within a few steps. In a week or two after the chicks have grown a little I put the food and water containers on bricks to help keep shavings from getting kicked in.
When the chicks got feathers and stopped using the heating plate around week four or five, I removed the heater, kept an eye on them for a day or two, and put them out in the coop (the weather was warm and they were separated from the big girls of course).

Good luck with your chicks next year. They grow fast, and it's super fun to watch them grow, develop, and interact.

 

[black_cat]

Since they will get no natural light, yes turn on a light to replicate day, and turn it off at night.

Will do!

 

[TwoShepherds]

Wow, that looks great! Unfortunately, I don't have a shipping crate and I don't see a situation where one would arrive. I was thinking about a dog crate brooder, but then I realized that the cat could reach his paw in.

The chicks can also just step right out of them until they get a little bigger. Line it with hardware cloth and/or cardboard. I started out my first chicks in a large wire dog crate then moved them to a bigger dog ex-pen.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

What's a good estimate for how many they can ACTUALLY hold? 1/2 of the label? 1/4?

The kind I use, the Comfort Chicks heating plate, does actually hold as many day-old chicks as they say it can. The size I have, 15 chicks, even has a little room for more chicks (if they're day olds). As the chicks get bigger, the plates do hold less chicks. The sizes are only accurate for day olds.

 

[black_cat]

Question for everyone: how much of the space around it does a heating plate actually warm up/heat? Will having a lid similar to that of @FuzzyCritters help keep it warmer?