Picking up 6 chicks Tuesday need help!

[Mychix2018]

hi! Need some advice on best options for a brooder for my 6 chicks. They will be like 2 days old when I get them. I’ve seen so much different methods . A cardboard box and Rubbermaid big bin, a heating lamp, an eco glow heater.
What’s best? I’m scared of horror stories of fires but a lamp is so much cheaper. Can I use a Rubbermaid bin with a lamp? Will it melt or will cardboard burn up? We are out the house for the day so not too comfortable with leaving a hot lamp on all day when I’m not home.

Any other tips for my brooder? Also I see people start with a small container than my be to a bigger one but I would rather stay in area and not have to relocate them? Will a rubber maid do the job for 6 chickens once they are like 4 weeks?

Thanks all!

 

[lazy gardener]

Save your money to spend on things that matter: like food, housing. Pick up a large appliance box instead of using a rubbermaid tote. By the time your chicks are 2 - 3 weeks old, they will require at least 2 s.f. per bird. But, even more room will allow them to exercise and stretch those wings. You may think a heat lamp is cheaper. BUT it's a false economy IMO. The heat lamp is on 24/7 and drawing power all that time, unless you turn it off intermittently to aid in weaning them from heat. (which should start after the first week, if you choose that method.)

The heating pad draws much less power over a 24 hour period. It only provides contact heat under the wire "cave" you build to support it. It is less of a fire danger. You can lay your hand on the heat pad, but could not do so with a heat lamp! Every chick season there are threads about injuries caused by heat lamps. Varying from fire, to smoke and almost fire, to chicks getting burned. MHP caves: I can only recall 2 instances with chicks being injured/killed. One was when a chick got up inside a poorly applied pad cover, and once when 2 pads were placed adjacent to each other, resulting in chicks trapped in the middle with no opportunity to escape.

Heating pad cave use results in chicks who are acclimated to natural day/night cycles, they go to bed in the evening and trill themselves to sleep (compared to narcoleptic heat lamp chicks who fall asleep off and on in odd places (may even fall asleep with beak in the water) until they get run over by a few of their flock mates. This goes on 24/7 and they never get a real night's rest. They are constantly sleep deprived. One poster noted that meat birds raised with heat pad were not prone to orthopedic problems in comparison to heat lamp chicks. Heating pad cave chicks are more socially adjusted, wean themselves from heat, and are not terrified of the dark.

@Blooie has 2 excellent articles and a thread devoted to heating pad cave brooding.

 

[PachecoPeeps]

This is the first year I am using the ecoglow and I have to say I would never go back to the lamp. It is such a comfort knowing that while I am out of the house or a sleep that I don' have to worry about the lamp exploding, falling, or starting a fire. An added bonus too is the chicks are on a more regular schedule with the eco too. They go to sleep when itr gets dark and wake up when It's light. Lastly with the eco they can self regulate more and it seems to avoid overheating them.

I also always use cardboard because it's easier to increase the brooder size by using cardboard. Good luck with your babies and congrats!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Get the coop done as soon as you can, make sure you have time set aside for building it, setting it up, etc. I think one of the big oops first time owners make is thinking they have more time to get the coop set up than they actually have, and then suddenly 6 weeks have passed and the chicks are bouncing off the brooder walls wanting out and yet the coop is only half done.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think a mama heating pad would be less costly.

Finding one that does not shut off on its own is the tricky part.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

I know it is a long thread but the info on making one is in the first few pages.

 

[careeka22]

We started with a Rubbermaid bin and then upgraded to a baby pool with baby gates around the sides. I found my kids art easel and I hung the lamp from it and looped the cord a few times so it couldn't fall. They are thriving!

 

[Cyprus]

I have used both a cardboard box and rubbermaid container with a heat lamp for brooding my chicks in the past. While both held up just fine and I never had an issue with anything getting too hot, I prefer to use a rubbermaid.

I used a 4' long, 2' wide rubbermaid container last year for 5 standard chicks. We were able to comfortably keep them in there for about 6 weeks.

I also was out of the house most of the time while brooding my chicks, and nothing bad happened.

I would say that if you use a heat lamp I would use a rubbermaid container. And a large enough container like the size of mine or larger will hold your chicks just fine until 4wks old. An eco glo is generally safer, but if you don't want to spend that much money don't fret over it. I never used a heating pad and my chicks did just fine.

 

[Mychix2018]

I have used both a cardboard box and rubbermaid container with a heat lamp for brooding my chicks in the past. While both held up just fine and I never had an issue with anything getting too hot, I prefer to use a rubbermaid.

I used a 4' long, 2' wide rubbermaid container last year for 5 standard chicks. We were able to comfortably keep them in there for about 6 weeks.

I also was out of the house most of the time while brooding my chicks, and nothing bad happened.

I would say that if you use a heat lamp I would use a rubbermaid container. And a large enough container like the size of mine or larger will hold your chicks just fine until 4wks old. An eco glo is generally safer, but if you don't want to spend that much money don't fret over it. I never used a heating pad and my chicks did just fine.

Ok great!!! That definitely makes me feel better. I’m still considering for sure the bin just not too sure on the heating aspect. Nice to hear the lamp worked safely and effectively. Thanks for the advice!

 

[chickenmeadow]

Easy clean up daily, never had anything melt, etc. from the heat lamp (secure it so it won't fall off), fairly inexpensive & have raised chicks in one for 4 to 6 wks tops. Have even made an extension by duck tape attaching another cut off clear tote to the original tote with a passageway cut into long end side. Had to do this because of bad weather & no room for this age in that smaller coop. Best wishes.

 

[andreanar]

How is the clean up with the boxes ? How often do u clean

I put down paper towels then some shavings, and I just use a cat litter scoop and scoop out nasty shavings daily and add more as needed.