Need indoor brooder with heat lamp for six, 2 1/2 week old chicks

[ElizabethRanch]

I got 6 chicks a couple of weeks ago and they need to stay in my house as there is snow outside but they are growing so fast! I am using a heat lamp to keep them warm as they are getting their feathers and enclosed in a room away from our other pets. I’m unsure of bigger brooder ideas for inside that are safe with a heat lamp. Ideas please!! I looked at other threads but I see wooden brooders outside or cardboard that wouldn’t be safe with the heat lamp.

 

[nuthatched]

What are you using now? do you have a dog kennel?

 

[ElizabethRanch]

We are using a plastic tub that is about 40”x21”. We do have a dog crate but I’m not sure it’s big enough.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If the dog crate is bigger, that's already a better option.

I used a bathtub the first time around as a brooder. Or even a spare stall type shower will work, as long as it's kept closed.

 

[My2butterflies]

How warm is the room they are in? Can you find something else to clip the lamp onto so it’s higher up?
If you lower the temp you keep them at they will feather faster and depending on how warm your house is you could shut the lamp off soon so space will be all you’ll have to worry about.
At three weeks old I was shutting the lamp off during the day(room temp about 70F) and only used it at night if it was windy. (My sunroom is drafty) By 4 weeks they didn’t need a lamp at all in the house. They only have it again now because they are outside and we still get down to freezing some nights.

Once you don’t need the lamp you could just use cardboard to make a bigger brooder.

 

[ElizabethRanch]

If the dog crate is bigger, that's already a better option.

I used a bathtub the first time around as a brooder. Or even a spare stall type shower will work, as long as it's kept closed.

Our dog kennel works!! Thanks so much for the idea!!

 

[jonalisa]

Our dog kennel works!! Thanks so much for the idea!!

Make sure they have room to move away from the heat source if they are too warm.