Kiwi977
In the Brooder
Hey there, I'm new to this chicken life (obviously). Read like 5 books on raising backyard chickens earlier this year, but you can only learn so much before you have to do. We were going to wait until August to get chicks so we could vacation this summer without having to worry about our chickies. But...then decided with this coronavirus business to get them for a project early to keep us busy! So here we are with four chicks. Two silver and two gold-laced wyandottes that are hopefully hens.
As for how I'm doing things differently, I like to do things my own way and decided not to go the standard route of using a heat lamp (for multiple reasons). So instead we are using a large stockpot full of boiled water covered with a wool sweater from a thrift store that they like to cuddle up against during the day. At night they all go to sleep in a wool hen (made from the sleeves of the same wool sweater covering the pot) as well as a radiant space heater near the brooder. They are currently in our laundry/furnace room that is in the middle of being renovated to add a bathroom but that project is on hold for the next month or so. We got the chicks five days ago and they are thriving. The temperature in the room they're in has been consistently in the mid to low 70s (Fahrenheit) and the temperature in the wool hen when they are sleeping is in the mid-80s depending on where they are in relation to the sensor.
I am so excited as I wasn't sure the wool hen would work with such a small number of chicks, but as I said, so far they are all acting normally during the day, fairly active and running around happily exploring until they need to warm up, they cuddling up against the pot of water.
As for how I'm doing things differently, I like to do things my own way and decided not to go the standard route of using a heat lamp (for multiple reasons). So instead we are using a large stockpot full of boiled water covered with a wool sweater from a thrift store that they like to cuddle up against during the day. At night they all go to sleep in a wool hen (made from the sleeves of the same wool sweater covering the pot) as well as a radiant space heater near the brooder. They are currently in our laundry/furnace room that is in the middle of being renovated to add a bathroom but that project is on hold for the next month or so. We got the chicks five days ago and they are thriving. The temperature in the room they're in has been consistently in the mid to low 70s (Fahrenheit) and the temperature in the wool hen when they are sleeping is in the mid-80s depending on where they are in relation to the sensor.
I am so excited as I wasn't sure the wool hen would work with such a small number of chicks, but as I said, so far they are all acting normally during the day, fairly active and running around happily exploring until they need to warm up, they cuddling up against the pot of water.
Glad you joined.
