My Brinsea ecoglow just came for the chicks!

[ginormous chicken]

The UPS guy just came with my incubator and ecoglow for Brinsea. I was really hesitant to get one because I heard some really bad reviews when I Googled it. Then Hhandbasket had one and I saw it and loved it. I just set it up and put it with my 11 chicks that are all 1 1/2 weeks old. They took to it immediately!

Well... almist they were scared of it at first and when I pushed a bunch of them under... it was like they realized, "hey, this is toasty and nice!". I really like it! I think it is well worth it to spend the 60 bucks. So I don't have to use heat lamps. Those 125W lamps are really dangerous! Everytime I leave the house, I seriously worry the house is going to burn down. I mean, hot, hot, heat lamp falling and hitting pine shavings =

(that is not so mad, but FIRE!!)

I love it! Well worth the investment!

 

[featherz]

Quote:
I love mine so much I have two of them. Two together work great with 30+ chicks so far.

I've used them for two sets of chicks so far and as long as they keep working, it's all I will use. Brinsea is coming out with an extra big one next month, or so I hear!

It's interesting to note that chicks don't seem to need as much heat as we think they do - mine spend 80% of their time running around playing in the brooder in my 70 degree house and the rest of the time napping under the ecoglow.

 

[Lisa202]

Yes, I just ordered one also. It is so much easier than rigging up a heat lamp to the overhead rafters in the garage. (and then worrying for the next 8 weeks) Now I can put them anywhere in the house. It's sooooo convenient.

My only concern is that sometimes when I check the thermometer, it reads 95 and other times it only reads 80. I know that it's radiant heat and doesn't heat up the air, but the thermometer is an object that should be getting heated up and so it should be reading correctly. And since I have gotten 95 readings, then why then only 80 at other times?

Anyone one else experiencing this?

 

[Lisa202]

Quote:
I love mine so much I have two of them. Two together work great with 30+ chicks so far.

I've used them for two sets of chicks so far and as long as they keep working, it's all I will use. Brinsea is coming out with an extra big one next month, or so I hear!

It's interesting to note that chicks don't seem to need as much heat as we think they do - mine spend 80% of their time running around playing in the brooder in my 70 degree house and the rest of the time napping under the ecoglow.



I have noticed the exact same thing.

 

[ginormous chicken]

It's interesting to note that chicks don't seem to need as much heat as we think they do - mine spend 80% of their time running around playing in the brooder in my 70 degree house and the rest of the time napping under the ecoglow.

That is so interesting you bring that up. When I first started raising chicks, people at the feed store were like you can't set them outside before 8 weeks and they need a heat lamp the entire time! As I have progressed with my brooding, I have become bolder. I like in CA so no snow here. With spring here, I can set chicks out at 6 weeks and they are fine (even at night w/o a light.) At 5 weeks they do fine with just a ceramic light (that is really spoilin them, I really don't think they neeeddd it.)

So, even as little chicks do they need a 125W light. Hmmm... makes me wonder. I mean they can get by with just that radiant heat pannel, so are we over heating them?​

 

[4kids*2dogs]

Quote:
It's interesting to note that chicks don't seem to need as much heat as we think they do - mine spend 80% of their time running around playing in the brooder in my 70 degree house and the rest of the time napping under the ecoglow.

I am THRILLED with mine! I was so worried about getting a heat lamp too. Heat lamps seem so cumbersome and such a fire worry. My chicks are 3 weeks old and still love the Ecoglow. They are in the basement ..we live in Maine...so the basement is maybe 60 degrees (they started upstairs and I just moved them down there to increase their space). The chicks run in and out of the Ecoglow and most of their time is spent out of it.

I'm sure that a lot of those dead chicks that we read about are due to over heating because it seems mine don't go to the heat all that often. They are as happy as can be and seem to be thriving.

 

[featherz]

I got very bold this year and put my 5-6 weekers out in the barn while it was still just above freezing outside at night,since they were still fully feathered and my barn stays a bit warmer than the outside. They all did fine, even roosting like big birds.

I don't think I'd bother measuring the temp under the ecoglow. If the chicks are sleeping and content, it's fine. If they are peeping loudly and acting cold I'd worry, but I haven't used a thermometer since my very first chick order (when I was a nervous chick mommy). My experience so far with newly hatched chicks under the ecoglow is they spend a ton of time under it for 2-3 days, then they come out and spend very little time under it. Some of my two weekers are perching on top of it and seem perfectly content. In 70 degree room temps.

 

[HHandbasket]

Oooh, I love my Ecoglow! They're usually no longer under it by the time they're 3 weeks old or so, though (with the exception of winter hatches).

I never have been able to understand the line of thinking that chicks need to be under a heat source 24/7 for the first couple of months and shouldn't be outside. I will tell you true, the 3 healthiest, biggest, most ROBUST younglings in my yard were chicks that my Olga hatched out in early March when we still had ice cold temps in Sacramento, and she had them outside all day with her at 6 days of age & 40 degrees outside.

When I hear people discuss the "necessity" of heat lamps and brooders for 8 weeks, makes me wonder why so many people just let the hens do all the work and never, ever even HAVE a brooder in their house.

 

[jenkassai]

Okay, I bit the bullet and ordered an Ecoglow

I only wish I had learned about it sooner as I will be picking my chicks up on Tues and the Ecoglow won't be here for a while so I'll have to use the heat lamp until then

I might call on Tues and see how much the express delivery is. I like the sounds of it because it seems more natural and I don't want to have a light on them all the time! Not to mention it seems safer and that makes me feel better too! Wonder if my job would let me work from home until the Ecoglow gets here

 

[GiddyMoon]

I plan on ordering one before my next order..and honestly, whenever I hear statements that are completely contradictory to what truly happens in nature..I take step back and think...no..if momma was caring for them, she can't control the weather, chickens are in all types of weather..she leads them out to eat all over the ground...DUH. We humans think way too much of ourselves.

I used a 60 watt amber bulb for 27 chicks and they all did great. I stopped using any warmth at 3 weeks..we do not need to keep them at 90 degrees for weeks on end!