if they are too warm. If brooding very young quail or very small numbers of any small birds, it is a good idea to confine them in a cardboard box at least twice the size of the
EcoGlow, but put the brooder against one side of the box so that the birds can only enter on the other side. This conserves warmth under the brooder but still allows birds to move freely out into the open as they wish.
Another useful trick is to put the whole box on a slab of 1” Styrofoam to reduce heat loss from the bottom.
In an extreme case,
it can be useful to remove one end of the EcoGlow so that it rests directly on the floor. The other end is best at the middle or higher position. This gives very small birds to option to touch the warm surface or adjust their position for maximum comfort.
Because the heat from the black underside of the EcoGlow is largely
radiant,
measuring the temperature with a thermometer is of little value.
Radiant heat passes through air without warming it. Only a solid object will absorb and be warmed by
Radiant heat. So
a thermometer will register the air temperature but not the radiant heat.....the effective temperature felt by the chicks.
Always watch the behavior of the birds. They will naturally huddle together if they are cool. The more of them, the less external warmth they need.
For larger numbers of birds, two to four EcoGlow 20 can be assembled side by side. Above four units,
it is probably better to leave a gap between units for birds to exit freely.
