Question about Brinsea brooder....

[kylieschooks]

Hi there,

I'm looking at hatching some chicks soon and going to start with the brinsea hatching kit, it includes the brooder heat plate, what I would like to know is, how long can you use the heater for because it looks like the chicks will outgrow it pretty fast??? I'm only going to start with 10 eggs. But will the brooder be big enough for them to all fit under when they are older like 5-6 weeks old??

Thanks

 

[dekel18042]

While I can't answer your question totally, my 9 peeps are young (I started with 10 eggs, too.) bui I have the Brinsea and am very happy with it. It does have three height settings as the chicks grow, and so far all fit under it. They sleep in a tight little group.
Part of the answer might be how cold it is where you are, and I was also thinking they move around, go in and out of the brooder at will. Mine must be fairly warm because they come out to eat and drink and play a lot, especially when they hear our voices then go back in to sleep.
I'm assumming as they grow they will go in and out and can still get heat even if not totally under. I've had friends raise peeps with a mother hen in extremely cold weather and her underside is smaller than the Brinsea brooder. By sleeping in a group and in and out I think they should be fine and by that time they will be older and should be able to tolerate some coolness.
Perhaps with more experience I can answer this better, but so far so good.

 

[Caitlin_VT]

I'm assuming it's the 20 chick brooder? They outgrow it pretty fast if you have standard or "large" bantam breeds. I'd say it would be comfortable for about 4-6 older chicks. I had 6, 4 "bantam" (Orpington) and 2 standard chicks under one, and it was a tight squeeze as they got older! They do start spending less time under it and more time on top!

 

[dekel18042]

It is. I figure at the point when they outgrow it, if they're going in and out of it and seem chilly, I can always put on my heat lamp.
(Note to self: better idea to make sure my next hatch is a spring or summer one)

 

[Caitlin_VT]

I can't really see 20 chicks being able to use one, except maybe for the first day!

 

[buckbye]

If you're concerned about size, get the EcoGlow 50. You'll be able to fit way more chicks much more comfortably. Adjusting the height is easier on the 50 than the 20; you can make it as high or as low as the screw-on legs will let you--an important consideration when you have tiny day-olds who need to actually make physical contact with a radiant heating device. If they're too cold under the EcoGlow, they'll stack atop one another for warmth and you'll get pancake-flat, dead chicks. So make sure to start brooding with the EcoGlow low low low and adjust as your birds grow.

 

[jonalisa]

How many chicks does Brinsea advertise as fitting under the EcoGlow20?

 

[dekel18042]

They advertise 20, but not for long. I wish I had gotten the next larger one.

 

[Caitlin_VT]

How many chicks does Brinsea advertise as fitting under the EcoGlow20?

Yeah, I don't think 20 just hatched chicks would be able to use theEcoglow 20. At most, 10-15 (depending on size), and then as they grow (very quickly), fewer and fewer.