Question about brooder in garage

[aart]

You could set up your brooder all ready for the chicks, and make sure that it stays 100 degrees by the heater all night. There are nice indoor/outdoor remote thermometers that I use for this. If it can stay @ 100, you are good to go.

Are you using a heat lamp or a heat plate?
They are very different.
100°F is too hot under a heat lamp.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-chick-heat-blurb.75619/

Well it’s freezing her so garage is cold. The Brooder is like a little tent that they go under.
Has switch for brooder and one for coop heater
So must be 90* for brooder.
We are supposed to warm up a bit.
I’m getting mixed advice.
Some say they have their brooder in unheated coop and use the heater others say to cold for them

@BobbieB7 Please show the exact heat plate you are using....a link would be good.
Some plates are not recommended being used where ambient temps are below about 50°F. Sometimes they may work OK in colder temps, sometimes not.
What is the exact temp in your garage..and is garage attached to house?

 

[Parront]

Are you using a heat lamp or a heat plate?
They are very different.
100°F is too hot under a heat lamp.

HI! I use a no-light reptile lamp. I have had some chicks want it that warm the first day. I watch their behavior, and if they are crowding in like they are cold at 95, I lower the lamp/heater. (It is best to have the brooder set up and warm for at least a day before bring home chicks). One batch from IA last fall wanted to be that warm. I did not lose any.
If I were setting up a new brooder in a different building, I would test it to be sure I could get it that warm under the heater, even if I didn't need it for every hatch. I would stress that the chicks need space to get out away from the heat. I put the heat on one end of a 6 foot long space under the loft of a little barn style 8x10 shed. The chicks run in and out of the heat if they are happy and warm enough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How big is that tote in inches, length, width, and height? Do you have a photo or a link so we can see what it looks like? How many chicks? How old do you expect the chicks to be when you take them out and move them to the coop? A link to that heater would be fabulous so we know what you are working with. Right now I'm not sure if it is a heat plate, heating pad, heat lamp, or something else.

I don't care how cold it is outside, what is important is the coldest and warmest it will be in the garage. In degrees. I'm as worried about you possibly overheating them as them being too cold. Do you keep vehicles in there where you have to consider possible fumes from them or opening and closing doors?

Some of us raise chicks in brooders outside even below freezing. It can be managed but it really helps us get specific if you know what you are working with. Help us help you.

 

[BobbieB7]

Hi , sorry didn’t respond sooner
This is the Brooder
The Producer's Pride FH200 Brooder And Chicken Coop Heater has a 1-piece heating place with 6 holders for chicken and egg care and has uses 87% less energy than a 1500W Heat Lamp.

• A chicken coop heater and brooder heater in one unit
• Radiant heat technology is much safer than a heat bulb
• Certified zero clearance
• Uses 87% less energy than a 1500W Heat Lamp
• Dual position switch - Heater / Brooder, Convenient in-cord switch
• 3 Position height adjustment for brooder
• Heater can stand vertically, horizontally or hang
• Built-in Thermostat maintains a constant temperature
• Dimensions: 18.9 in. x 12 in. x 1.26 in.
• Please refer to instruction manual
• Clean the surface every week, don't use water to clean it.

So I did bring home 3 chicks today, kinda unexpectedly.
Went to visit a friend that picked chicks up four days ago.
Not exactly sure of age, but at least 4 days lol
I’m thinking a maybe 8-9 days
Problem is my heat source takes up most of 45 gallon tote with enough room for water and feed.
Not a lot of moving room
I dipped their beak as showed them food.
My RIR tried to fly
I cut about a 2ft x 1 1/2 fr opening out of cover and placed protection over hole.
Brought them home at 3pm and it’s 1:30am and they’ve been sleeping all this time.
I put the heater on the second notches because closest notch seemed to low for them.
Not a great photo but hopefully you can see lack of space.
So they’re in spare bedroom for now until I can work on this later today.
Another thing is lack of light.
Dang I’d sleep day and night with warmth, dark and quiet room!
My only options are
Bring the small coop in garage and place a large box with 8” h
And than add cardboard up sides of walls and use the brooder plate inside box and than place a hanging brooder light just outside of coop for more area warmth.
Coop is maybe 3ft w x 6 ft L.
Another option is to cut out side of tote put a smaller box all in the coop.
But seems easier to just put one large box and they have a condo.
But those options have them in garage.
No way to bring coop in
I really think keep them in close quarters isn’t going to make them happy.
When I got them they were up and running around
I could bring large box in, but it’s huge. Had a table set in it
They’d have the room, but doesn’t solve them getting light
And my cat would definitely make hole trying to get them.
So they need light correct?
And should I bring that heater up one more notch? At two weeks it says drop temp to 80*
Boy oh Boy I have a dilemma
Thank you for all the detailed questions.
This is the temp in garage
Look forward to your wisdom

 

[Parront]

The nice thing about a large cardboard box, you can cut it down to the size you want and throw it away when you are done brooding. It looks like you need more room to give the chicks room away from the heat. Daytime light is enough light for them, unless the garage is dark without windows, then just turn on the overhead light. The reason the brooder plate is better is the chicks get a dark night. That is why I use the reptile heater, no light. Your chicks are over the most delicate time, the first week! By 6 weeks they will be fine at 32.

 

[aart]

And should I bring that heater up one more notch? At two weeks it says drop temp to 80*

You can't measure heat with a plate like you do with a lamp..
They need to be able to touch their backs to the plate.
Then monitor behavior.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I did my math right, my 250 watt heat lamp bulb uses 83% less heat than their 1500 watt heat lamp. Again, if the math is right their unit uses 195 watts, still 22% less than my 250 watt bulb. But when it's warm enough for me to use a 125 watt or 75 watt bulb the energy use advantage swings my way. I'm not knocking their unit, it should work well, but I dislike false or misleading advertising.

I would not use that in your tote, no room. It says to not clean it with water so only use it where it can't get wet.

It's hard to tell how old they are but I'd guess about a week at most. In another week they will be able to fly a few feet. Be ready for that.

I still don't know the coldest temperature in that garage but you do not need additional area warmth. All they need is a warm enough spot to go to so they can warm up enough when they need to. Some of us regularly brood chicks outside when it is below freezing. My brooder in the coop sometimes has ice in the far end but I keep the other end toasty. The chicks will go out and play until they get cold, then they will go warm up. You don't want to set it up where they can get trapped and can't get to the heat, but if they can get there they'll go when they need to. I don't know how well that heat plate will work in your coldest temperatures, probably fairly well. If your garage goes below freezing you may need to look at keeping water thawed, but as long as the chicks can get to heat when they need it, they will be fine.

There is a rule of thumb on here that I don't much like because people see it and think that it is an absolute requirement but it's not. It is something that is extremely safe. You start off at hatch with the temperature of their warm spot at 90 F, some people use 95 to start with. Then you drop the temperature of that warm spot 5 degrees a week. If you do that you won't cook them and they will be plenty safe from cold. If it is warmer outside you don't need to air condition them to get them this cool, they can handle it. Some people need guidelines until they do this and get enough experience to see how tough those chicks really are.

One advantage of having a warm spot and the rest cooling off is that the chicks get acclimated to colder temperatures when they are playing on the cold. That helps them feather out faster. I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights with a low in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. They were in a coop with great ventilation up high and great breeze protection down low where they were. Parront's 32 degrees and 6 weeks is certainly in line with my experiences.

I don't know what kind of natural light you have in that garage. When a broody hen raises them the chicks eat, drink, and play during daylight hours and spend the night under her in the dark. They need enough light during the day so they can eat and drink. If you have windows they may have enough light. If not, supplemental light during the daytime is a good thing. It doesn't have to be bright and sunny, just enough for them to see to eat and drink. Some people give their chicks light 24 hors a day and their chicks do fine but my personal preference is for them to follow a natural day/night cycle. There is a lot of personal preference in what we do.

So what can you do? You can move that coop/run combo into your garage. I'd set it or any brooder over cardboard or something you can throw away to protect your garage floor from staining. I'd keep that enclosed coop section closed for now, I don't see any advantage to it being opened. Keep it as simple as you can. You could put wind protection around the bottom of that, if you are using the garage for parking and opening the door to let cold and wind in I'd consider that a requirement. But only bring that up a foot or so. That's all you need to stop wind from hitting them and the top is open to let light in.

Another fairly easy option is to get an appliance box or maybe more and tape them together to form a brooder big enough. Cover the top with wire or netting so they can't fly out but light can get in. I had this ready to set up in case I ever lost power and had to move them from my coop to the garage and use my generator to keep them warm, along with freezers cold. Luckily I never had to test this.

You can put something together out of plywood, paneling, roofing panels either plastic or metal. whatever you have on hand. It is inside so rain won't bother it. It doesn't have to be fancy or cute. They just need a warm spot, a cool spot, food, water, protection from weather, and protection from predators.

Do not get any more chicks until these are in the coop. You don't want to go through an integration with this set-up.

Good luck.

 

[mufflerchick]

Hi I’m a newbie. I picked up all my supplies yesterday for my brooder. I purchased a brooder heater and was going to put chicks in a tote with shaving and leave them in garage. I’m in New England so it’s still cold.
Can I set them up in garage with their little heater or should I bring indoors

The floor of the garage is gonna be cold yet....so I would bring them into the house somewhere where they will be warm and out of drafts. Shavings are a great litter material but for small chicks it's slippery....I usually will put down layers of newspaper so that when it is soiled I can just peel off and replace the layer. I'm able to raise my brooder as the chicks grow.....not sure what kind you have. I also have my chicks in a plastic large dog kennel which helps me control any drafts and as they grow I can slide a small plank inside for them to practice roosting on.

 

[WindingRoad]

Hi I’m a newbie. I picked up all my supplies yesterday for my brooder. I purchased a brooder heater and was going to put chicks in a tote with shaving and leave them in garage. I’m in New England so it’s still cold.
Can I set them up in garage with their little heater or should I bring indoors

Where in New England? I wouldn't do it because the weather is too fickle around here. I live in Western Maine. If you can wait until May or June you could use the garage. Better safe than sorry. Tuesday it was 4F at 8am with a NW wind of 17 MPH making it -17F. My chickens were fine in an unheated coop also uninsulated but chicks don't have the feathers to keep them warm. I actually hung out in the coop for awhile as it was pretty warm. Unless you have already ordered your chicks. Wait awhile.

 

[Ducklings100]

Hi I’m a newbie. I picked up all my supplies yesterday for my brooder. I purchased a brooder heater and was going to put chicks in a tote with shaving and leave them in garage. I’m in New England so it’s still cold.
Can I set them up in garage with their little heater or should I bring indoors

Hi I think it’s okay because I have a brooder in my garage right now and the chicks are fine.