Good morning from California! So I finished building a brooder box in which I am going to raise this year's flock of chicks. I bought the Ecoglow 20 and have it all set up. I'm confused, though, about whether I need to provide any other heat or light source? If I keep the brooder in the garage and the ambient temperature is say 58 degrees for example, is the Ecoglow all that i'm going to need? I was so OCD last with last year's chicks, checking the temperature all the time and trying to keep the temperature at a balmy 95 degrees. It just seems like quite a big swing from the super hot heat lamp to a unit that doesn't heat the air surrounding it. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks in advance, Michelle in CA
The Ecoglow is all you need... mama broody doesn't heat the air around her either, lol... You have the safest, best piece of equipment for keeping chicks warm besides a broody... just lower or raise it as needed as the chicks grow... good luck and happy hatching!
I understand if you've never been able to watch a broody hen raise chicks, the ecoglow doesn't seem adequate. However, it's the closest thing on the market to how momma would raise them. She simply warms one spot, under her body. The rest of the world stays at whatever temp it happens to be outside, even down to freezing. I'm guessing you'll notice a difference in how much faster these chicks feather out vs your last batch. Your chicks will have far more natural temperature adjustments than traditionally brooded chicks. Adding supplemental light depends on if there's already light in the garage during the day. Most garages have windows, so I'm thinking you're okay. If it seems a bit gloomy, just leave the overhead light on during the day and shut it off at night.
I used just an EcoGlow for my chicks back in October. It was about that temp (or colder) in my house at the time. They did just fine. They dart under, get warm, and come back out. Rinse and repeat. Endlessly. At night, they tuck under at first, and then you see them just tuck their little bums under the edge. Then by about 3-4 weeks, as they're getting too big for it anyway, they seem to stop using it for the most part. I left it in for a the runt chicks for a couple more weeks, but the bigger ones were mostly sitting on top of it all the time by then, LOL!
The Eco-Glow is the best thing you can use in the brooder for your chicks, plus it's much safer than heat lamps. You don't have to worry about the temperature - the chicks decide how much heat they need!
I have ecoglow.and plan on using it this spring.So glad I seen this post.Was wondering if I need to provide more heat.
So happy to read this thread, I just bought an EcoGlow for 12 chicks and can't wait to see some happy peeps!