Thought Ya'll Could Use This Info...

[MysteryChicken]

6 Brahma,3 Orpington and 3 Cochin. Very excited but a bit nervous too.

Nice.

 

[Carters Chick House]

I only use heat plates, and have not had any problems with my mail order chicks. I've ordered a batch every spring for 3 years. I only order in the warm months, and I use the closest hatchery, which may help to limit transit time. I haven't lost a chick yet.

I refuse to use heat lamps. I just read in my local news that there have been at least 3 barn fires in the neighboring county this winter--all started by heat lamps. I brood chicks in the garage attached to my house... a heat lamp would make me far too nervous. The risk may be small, but for me it's not worth it. If I had a detached garage or a barn maybe...but for now heat lamps are a big NOPE for me.

My Brooder will be inside our house. They will be here in May so should be in coop by June - ish. I'm excited and nervous.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I hang my lamp from a chain and use a carabiner to move it up and down.

View attachment 3028085

Our basement, I don't think I can do that. Plus the heating plates I'm liking better.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

6 Brahma,3 Orpington and 3 Cochin. Very excited but a bit nervous too.

I have five Brahmas and one blue Cochin. Love them all!

 

[AGeese]

What kind of heat emitter?

I think that managing the chicks under a light is easier then managing them under a heat plate. With the heat plate the chicks have to be rousted from their sleep, or whatever they are doing, to check on them. With a lamp you can peek in on them without disturbing. Is is informative to be able to watch chciks when they have not been alerted to your presence. You can pick up on signs of trouble that may be missed otherwise.

I'm still grappling with the importance of a normal light cycle too. I don't want them to grow up neurotic or something. But, maybe continuous light lets them eat and drink in the middle of the night and makes them stronger. Don't know. I have noticed that they all go to sleep at dusk even when the light is on.

I'm thinking about using a large glass aquarium as a brooder instead of solid plastic containers. That way I can look under the heat plate. A wire cage would allow observation under the heat plate too, but wire is drafty and the temperature will not be as stable. My brooders are outside.

Just a black ceramic e26 or 27 150w emitter-bulb and rated socket with safety grill and temp gauge. The lamp is a red "explosion proof bulb"

 

[aart]

The lamp is a red "explosion proof bulb"

Explosion proof?
Hopefully that bulb not teflon coated and is meant for poultry.

 

[Carters Chick House]

I have five Brahmas and one blue Cochin. Love them all!

How sweet. We are trying to finish our coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So confusing. Everyone does things differently.

Yup, and you'll notice that about advice on here for almost every aspect of chicken raising.

Me, I did the heat lamp and the indoors for my first batch of chicks. The heat lamp the local feed store sold was 250W, which was so hot it burned off the red coating, and the entire bathroom smelled like it was on the verge of catching fire. Greasy dust and dander coated the entire shower by the time they moved outside, and across to the sink facing the shower. So I decided I wasn't going to do that again.

Second and third batch of chicks, I raised them outside with a heating pad (not plate, strangely no one has mentioned heating pads on this thread yet). These were 2-3 day old chicks that came from the feed store, in some cases sold less than an hour after their arrival (not ideal at all) - so definitely at risk of stress and cold, but I put them in the brooder straight from the car, got them tucked under the heating pad, and they've all done just fine.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Yup, and you'll notice that about advice on here for almost every aspect of chicken raising.

Me, I did the heat lamp and the indoors for my first batch of chicks. The heat lamp the local feed store sold was 250W, which was so hot it burned off the red coating, and the entire bathroom smelled like it was on the verge of catching fire. Greasy dust and dander coated the entire shower by the time they moved outside, and across to the sink facing the shower. So I decided I wasn't going to do that again.

Second and third batch of chicks, I raised them outside with a heating pad (not plate, strangely no one has mentioned heating pads on this thread yet). These were 2-3 day old chicks that came from the feed store, in some cases sold less than an hour after their arrival (not ideal at all) - so definitely at risk of stress and cold, but I put them in the brooder straight from the car, got them tucked under the heating pad, and they've all done just fine.

I've never used a lamp in my brooders, always a DIY mama heating pad with both feed store buys and shipped chicks. I have 2 under a MHP right now. I've also used a MHP while waiting to put babies under a broody hen. Never had a chick with pasty butt. Never had a loss (except a shipping disaster where they arrived dead or nearly so and succumbed within hours).

I always just kinda figured a MHP was more like a mama than a 24/7 lamp, but this video gives me something to think about.

I wonder if shipping dates matter, too - if you order chicks in March vs June.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wonder if shipping dates matter, too - if you order chicks in March vs June.

I have to imagine so, which is why some hatcheries don't really do winter orders or only do large orders, where the sheer number of chicks in the box would keep them a bit warmer.

All my chicks have come in May (just kind of worked out that way with getting the breeds I wanted), where average temps range from mid-40s to maybe 70 on a good day. So that does have some effect on timing as far as when they get their first day out of the brooder, or when I take heat away. Like with my last batch I delayed removing their heat for 2 days due to a big storm going through the area.