Separate brooders?

[Dcherie13]

New chicks will need a heat source for the first three weeks. Until they get some feathers on their backs and sides, they lose body heat when the ambient temp is below 80F. It takes a good while for them to lose enough to be uncomfortable, but they need a place to warm up under when they need to.

I like the heating pad system because it's so natural and safe. It's very hard to overheat chicks with it, and they find different ways to self regulate with it. It's also much easier for them to wean themselves off heat using the heating pad. They simply stop using it once they no longer need heat.

What kind of heating pad do you recommend?

 

[azygous]

For eleven chicks, I'd get the largest pad they sell. Sunbeam is the one most of us use. Walmart sells them. The only real consideration is you need to be sure it has a feature where you can elect to keep it on all the time without it automatically shutting off.

Have you explored Blooie's thread on Mama Heating Pad for the Brooder? Lots of wonderful tips there. The best frame is a simple wire frame that can be shaped so the pad provides direct contact with the chicks backs when they're new, and then re-shaped to make it higher as they need less contact with the pad as they grow.