Pictures of Booders and Lamp vs Pad

[Dustin07]

What are folks' preferred source of heat for their chicks? (lamps / heat pads).
Does anyone have pictures of their brooders they'd be willing to share?

 

[GC-Raptor]

I use a plastic tub the first week, never had more than 7 chicks brooding.
Then I put them in a large cardboard box till 5 weeks old when they go into coop.

I use a plug-in dimmer cord to control the temperature instead of having to raise and lower heat-lamp. Available at Wal-Mart and Amazon.

In their coop. . GC

 

[Dustin07]

That's a great idea on the dimmer. Do you have any pictures of how the heat lamp is hanging? thanks for sharing!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I originally made old school Ohio brooders that would brood 50-100 chicks.
I now mostly use small and extra small Premier 1 heat plates.
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/heating-plates-and-covers
They will pay for themselves in electrical savings in as little as one brooding.
If id do use a heat lamp, I use a ceramic heat emitter which is more efficient and allows providing chicks with a daily dark period which they need.

 

[GC-Raptor]

That's a great idea on the dimmer. Do you have any pictures of how the heat lamp is hanging? thanks for sharing!

I just checked my archives, no I don't.
But I clamp it to something secure outside the box, I used an old stoves oven handle and another time a cabinet, and it should also be hung with a chain from a rafter. A tie-out chain for a dog works well, and the clips make it easy to adjust the height. GC

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm a mama heat pad user. I still have a heat lamp in the garage, no reason to toss it, but don't plan on using it again. Brooder article here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/

 

[MommA2K]

Our Speckled Sussex chicks will be three weeks next Monday. They started out in a bin and yesterday I rigged up a play yard which offers more space for them. We started with five, but sadly one died shortly after receiving them. I have a small animal heat pad. When we first got them I enclosed a plastic basket with some fabric keeping the heat in (I had a thermometer in there) and now that they’re older I’ve taken the fabric off, but they all sleep under the basket on the pad. I also put a paper towel on top of the basket because it’s rather slippery and I worried about spradle leg.

First time with chicks so I hope I’m doing everything right! Moved a chair into the room next to their play yard so I can sit and talk to them while having my coffee, otherwise I’m on the floor with them I’m officially the crazy chicken lady and loving it!

 

[DobieLover]

My preferred method is this

But this is what I did prior to my broodies commandeering the chick rearing duties.
The brooder is under the nest boxes and has white puppy pads on the floor in this picture as the chicks were due to arrive the next day.
I used a brooder plate with a towel tossed over it. The lowest temperature the chicks were exposed to was 23F and that was when they were 5 days old. It didn't affect them at all. They zipped all around the brooder and darted under the plate to warm up.

This is the baby bottle I made to keep the water clean and the brooder dry.

This is the run that is attached to the brooder with three hens checking out the chicks.

This is who's in the brooder now

I now call the brooder the maternity ward.

 

[sunnie7]

I use dog crates with heat lamps because it’s what I have on hand! I’m also a huge fan of the nipple waters to keep things dry. I give mine both from day one but it only takes a few days for them to get the hang of the nipple type.

 

[SueT]

A ceramic heat emitter (reptile bulb) fits in a clamp light fixture. It puts out heat but no light. I like this inexpensive option because chicks sleep all night, and because it is easy to see under it to monitor/photograph the chicks. I use a 75 watt for small batches of chicks. I raise the fixture higher as they grow.
(Also, photographs look better when you don't have a red glow. )