New at raising baby chicks! Need suggestions!

santafesilkie

In the Brooder
Apr 3, 2020
16
14
49
Santa Fe, New Mexico
I got three baby chicks last Thursday. They have all been doing amazing!

They live in a Rubbermaid inside the house at night. They do great in there and I don’t really worry about them or if they are too cold or hot because they act very content.

In the morning I have been moving them out to our bonus room that doesn’t have heat but they have more room in a large galvanized bin. The problem is that it’s not very high and Harper my Dominique chick is trying to fly out and can almost make it. So, I put a screen over the bin but the heat lamp can’t be as close to them. I moved the heat lamp up and they seemed very cold and all huddled together. :(

I just moved them back inside in the rubber maid until I can figure out their day time living arrangement. What should I do? Will the heat lamp catch the screen on fire if it’s touching it? Will they really fly out?

the reason I moved them out in the day is because they are in my kids room at night and my kids can’t be alone with them or accidentally leave the door open for the dogs to get them. They are much safer in the bonus room.

thank you so much! I hope I can get some good advice and suggestions here.

Posted pictures of their living arrangements
First picture: day time without screen ( trying to fly out but content)
Second picture: day time with screen ( they seemed too cold)
Third picture: night time ( content and warm)
 

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I had a screen and a heat lamp and it wasn't an issue. I don't think they will try to fly out unless they see an opening - they really aren't smart enough to try to bump the screen off. Also, I put a towel across the screen to hold some of the heat in, which weighed down the screen. Good luck! Mine just got big enough to move outside and it's such a relief!
 
I don't know exactly how old they are, but I decided to put them outside when the had most feathers ( they have a little fuzz on their heads), when the temp started staying above 60 at night, and when they were all big enough to walk up the ramp into the laying box area of their coop. I guess they're probably 5-6 weeks old. They seem very happy out there. :)
 
If you’re worried about the heat lamp, you can also look into heat plates. You just leave the plate in the bin with them and they huddle under it like they would a mother hen. I’ve used them the two years I’ve raised chicks without issue.

Best of luck!
 
First picture: day time without screen ( trying to fly out but content)
Scares the heck out of me.......is that child touching a hot lamp shade?!?
Assuming the lamp has a 250W heat bulb.
Dangerous!

Also how deep are the shavings in the metal trough?
Only need an inch or so.

Yes, the lamp could catch the screen on fire, depending on material screen is made of,
if it's some kind of plastic or fiberglass it could also emit toxic fumes.
....and the way the lamp is mounted it not very safe especially with a small child around.

Need a metal mesh cover for trough.


Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.
 
Yes, my child touched the lamp shade because we had just turned it on for the first time in that picture and she knows not to touch it because i was teaching her it gets very hot. I am not putting my children in danger lol

Thank you for your suggestions, I really appreciate it! I didn’t know that screens could put toxic fumes into the brooder! I really appreciate it. I’m just going to leave them in the Rubbermaid until I can get chicken wire to cover the top of metal bin. I might have too much shavings in there. I got the bulb with the chicks at the feed store ( along with their food and feeders) I’m assuming it’s for poultry but not one hundred percent sure. I’m going back tomorrow , so I will ask them.

How do I mount the lamp if clipping it on the side isn’t safe? I want to make a comfortable and safe brooder for them. Are the other heaters inside the bin better?

thank you!
 
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Also, I got the bulb with the chicks at the feed store ( along with their food and feeders) I’m assuming it’s for poultry but not one hundred percent sure.

How do you suggest I mount the lamp if clipping it on the side isn’t safe?
It's probably for poultry but it's way too hot for the small enclosures you're using.
If not for the shutdown, I'd suggest you use a 100W red incandescent bulb made for reptiles with a dimmer cord(see my heat notes above).
...or even a white incandescent. But going to the pet store or even ordering from amazon seems not to be a viable solution at this point.
Then you could take the loops off the lamp shade and set it right on the chicken wire cover at one end of the trough.
1586388107664.png


Sorry I can't think of how to suggest securing the lamp.
Maybe browsing thru these threads might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/search/828184/?q=heat+lamp&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance
 
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Tough to secure a lamp inside a house without something to hang it from above - when I last brooded indoors I used a bathtub so the bub fixtures let me secure the lamp via 3 points (clamp, hanging loop, cord).

And yes the brooder needs to be kept covered - chicks will be exploding out of the bin by 2 weeks otherwise. Is that a 250 watt bulb? I can't imagine how they're too cold if you move the lamp up above the cover, those darn things run so hot.
 
I use 1/2 inch hardware cloth over a similar trough that I also use for brooding. I have my heat lamp sitting right on top of it and I use a dimmer switch to control the heat. I also have a thermometer at the bottom of the brooder so I can check if I need to make it warmer or colder.

4ACCE8B1-DCC3-4425-9EA3-274790B629C1.jpeg
This is a picture of my brooder. My chicks were outside with my brother (for about 15 minutes). They were catching bugs and such so that’s why you see the grit in there. A dust bath is in there since I can’t use any sand or soil since it’s always so rainy. Luckily we got one sunny day! And of course the mini roost. Before I had it on the stand but ever since I added the rocks to hold it up instead the chicks love it. They love jumping from rock to rock. You can also see the thermometer, that’s under were the heat lamp will be.

8498B768-CC06-4AE3-A4DB-0FC656D79E61.jpeg

And here you can see the chicks actually in the brooder. That middle one warmed up under the lamp and then switched to the middle since it’s the good spot for her.

You want to make sure your chicks can go under the light when they want to be warm and leave when they’re done. They’ll comfortably find the best spot to sleep in their brooder. Some of my chicks sleep on the roost, some in the middle, some under the light.

Good luck with your chicks.
 

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