Starting late Oct. chicks in the coop???

[song of joy]

Another option is a Sweeter Heater (www.sweeterheater.com), which is a thermal panel that the chicks go under when they need to heat up. In concept, it's similar to the heating pad setup. It doesn't get hot enough to cause burns or start a fire, and it uses far less electricity than a heat lamp bulb. For a larger number of chicks, it may be more versatile than the heating pad, as it may provide more space underneath as they grow. I've used an 11x30" overhead mount panel in my coop, as I was sick of worrying about the risk of fire due to a falling, exploding or defective heat lamp. I've seen too many reports on BYC of coop and barn fires caused by heat lamps.

 

[EastmanEggs]

I've got a hen broody on 12 eggs due to hatch this week, avg temps day/night 60/40.

My coop is a 14x14 barn with (2) 150W flood bulbs to regulate photoperiod (day hours) and an additional 250W bulb over the roosting bars (2x4 lumber is best)

$$$ Hahahaha I just seen the post about the "crawl space"... How hilariously crazy would it be to have 40 chickens clucking and running around beneath your floorboards as you have guests over for dinner?

Regarding the chicks: my hen built her best in the corner, and I've since put a cardboard box "fort" over her corner to keep her privacy. Heating the chicks will be an additional 75W red heat bulb.

I want my chicks to survive with a little help from a low power bulb, BUT I want their bodies to regulate for our temps in Nov/Dec 40/15 degrees.

 

[Blooie]

I've got a hen broody on 12 eggs due to hatch this week, avg temps day/night 60/40.

My coop is a 14x14 barn with (2) 150W flood bulbs to regulate photoperiod (day hours) and an additional 250W bulb over the roosting bars (2x4 lumber is best)

Regarding the chicks: my hen built her best in the corner, and I've since put a cardboard box "fort" over her corner to keep her privacy. Heating the chicks will be an additional 75W red heat bulb.

I want my chicks to survive with a little help from a low power bulb, BUT I want their bodies to regulate for our temps in Nov/Dec 40/15 degrees.

Um, may I ask why? A broody can keep those babies warm far better than we can. It's natural for them to spend time under her warming up, then cooling down when they go exploring. Some chill is good for them - they get stronger and feather out faster, they are used to natural day/night cycles and they don't need anything but Mom, food and water. So I'm a little confused about heating up the area where she is to provide heat to the chicks.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

I haven't gone to town yet today to look at heating pads in person, but I did look over some on the Internet & it looks like they pull 180 watts. My ceramic reptile bulb pulls only 150 watts...so now I'm wondering which one is actually the better choice electrically (ie. less like to cause overload, fire, etc.) since I have to run such a long extension cord.

 

[Blooie]

It certainly is your call. I honestly don't know enough about reptile heaters to even venture an opinion. But I sure wouldn't want you to do anything you aren't 100% comfortable with doing, especially given your bad experiences in the past. I'm really not trying to talk you into anything here. All I care about is that you end up with healthy chicks and that you enjoy the entire experience from start to finish...er, start to eggs!

 

[song of joy]

I haven't gone to town yet today to look at heating pads in person, but I did look over some on the Internet & it looks like they pull 180 watts. My ceramic reptile bulb pulls only 150 watts...so now I'm wondering which one is actually the better choice electrically (ie. less like to cause overload, fire, etc.) since I have to run such a long extension cord.

In case it helps, the 11x30" sweeter heater pulls 100 watts / 0.9 amps. The 11x16" model pulls 50 watts / 0.45 amps.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

It certainly is your call. I honestly don't know enough about reptile heaters to even venture an opinion. But I sure wouldn't want you to do anything you aren't 100% comfortable with doing, especially given your bad experiences in the past. I'm really not trying to talk you into anything here. All I care about is that you end up with healthy chicks and that you enjoy the entire experience from start to finish...er, start to eggs!

Oh, I know that you're not "pushing" anything on me and I most certainly am thankful that I have knowledgeable people such as yourself to seek advice from. I did a little readin', writin' & 'rithmatic and the 180 watt heating pad at 120 V would pull only a mere 1.5 amps....well below the capacity of any home circuit breakers that I've ever known. In fact, that's well below the 15 amp & 30 amp service that I use when I take the horses camping & trail riding!

I actually had favored the reptile bulb because I had read or heard somewhere that they don't get hot to the touch and, therefore, couldn't start a fire or burn the chicks if the mount/bracket/chain would fail. Sitting here, I read through every single word on the box and the accompanying literature and the under the heading of "Child Safety" in big, bold letters, the insert states, "Ceramic heat emitters get extremely hot! Do not allow children or pets to touch the Ceramic Heat Emitter or the fixture that it is screwed into. This may result in burns.......Keep the Ceramic heat Emitter away from curtains or other highly flammable objects."

So, yeah, sounds like the thing can still burn the chicks and/or set their bedding ablaze should the mounting mechanism fail. Guess I'll be making the 20 min trip to town to look at heating pads. Where they're designed to be applied directly to the skin, I know that they'll get hot enough to warm the chicks comfortably but no so hot to start a fire.

One last, annoying question...the heating pad that Blooie supplied the link for last night appears to have a plush cover on it & I didn't see anywhere in the description that it's removable & washable. How do you keep it from getting nasty from little chick poo's???

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm not Blooie, but I can answer your question re: the pad. It has a nice soft plush cover. The whole pad can be disconnected from the power cord and hand washed. Those of us who use the heat pad, put the pad over or under a wire frame. I recommend covering the pad/wire frame as a single unit with a fabric cover such as a pillow case, and taping it securely to keep chicks from getting any body parts stuck between the pad and wire frame. You can then put some type of plastic on top so that their poo will not soak into the fabric. I LOVE the heating pad brooder. You'll want to get the extra large pad if you go this route. I kept my chicks inside for the first couple of days after hatch, till they were eating/drinking well, and consistently running under the pad to warm up. Then, they went straight into the coop.

 

[chicapee]

I love the pad, they love the pad.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

So you use Chux pads (the plastic-backed absorbent pads, puppy-training padd) as your "bedding" as well as a "tent cover" over your heating pad? That's a pretty cool idea I hadn't thought about. Sure would make cleaning the brooder much easier while they so young!