Traditional Brooder vs. Wool Hen

[PouleChick]

Watching with interest to what you end up doing

 

[RoosterML]

#1 I would get a small solar/battery setup with an inverter to plug a heating pad into. Most heating pads are under 50watts. That I think is your best option or shortly after you receive the chicks I think you'll be back saying you lost them.

#2 Maybe your " wants" of doing this project is really not feasible seeing how you don't really have the means of doing it. Not trying to be rude just keeping it real.
Good luck which ever way you go.

 

[Kacey Elle]

@Ranchwithaview I will update when we've figured out what we're going to do!

I’m not an expert by any means but if you start them indoors with electric heat it seems to me they may have a harder transition to outdoors with no electricity. For more experiences chicken keepers: would it be better to start inside with the wool hen (stable temp environment, probably around 68F in a school) if you were going to transfer to no heat outside at 2 wk, where the high temps are similar but it will be cooler at night?

Great minds...I was already planning to have them with the wool hen indoors, rather than electric heat.

#1 I would get a small solar/battery setup with an inverter to plug a heating pad into. Most heating pads are under 50watts. That I think is your best option or shortly after you receive the chicks I think you'll be back saying you lost them.

#2 Maybe your " wants" of doing this project is really not feasible seeing how you don't really have the means of doing it. Not trying to be rude just keeping it real.
Good luck which ever way you go.

I didn't read this as "rude" at all. Honestly, it's not a "want" situation, though. This will be our third year having chickens but the last two times, we bought (expensive) 4-5 week old birds in May and put them directly outdoors. Because the kids wanted chicks and because they were less expensive, we decided to start with day-old chicks this time. The original plan was to do an indoor brood and then put them out when they were 4-5 weeks in May (like we've done before, basically) but then the principal finally showed me the area he'd designated for the project and it just wasn't great.

Do you have any suggestions for the solar setup?

At this point, though, the chicks have already been ordered so it's happening one way or the other! I just wanted to ask for some advice about my two possible options to see which people thought would be the best in a not-ideal situation....

 

[123RedBeard]

Tell the principal to go sit in the janitorial closet all day!



I'd try to see if you could keep them inside for a week or two with a wool hen, then put outside.

In another month your temp are gonna be higher than now too.

 

[Kacey Elle]

@123RedBeard Hahahahaha! Yeah...not going to do that.

I am leaning towards doing the "compromise" method of indoors for a few weeks and then moving them out, too. When they're small, it won't be too bad to have 22 chicks in the janitor's closet. I just have to make sure we air it out beforehand in case there are chemical fumes, I guess.

 

[Kacey Elle]

Update: Because at least one person wanted to know what happened, I thought I'd let you all know. The principal and I agreed on an indoor location with a temp of about 74 degrees Fahrenheit. The girls have been there with a wool hen since Tuesday and are doing very well. We also purchased a microwaveable hot pad that is normally used as an insert for an animal bed. It holds the heat for about 10 hours. We made an opening in the roof of the wool hen and put the hot pad there, with felt on top to hold the heat even longer. It's been working great! It might be a good option for those who want to take an alternate approach to brooding, if you have a decently warm/stable environment otherwise.

Depending on weather and how much feathering out the girls do, they'll be outside in two to three weeks. Because week three will be our vacation week, it won't be a problem to keep them indoors longer if necessary!

 

[aart]

The principal and I agreed on an indoor location with a temp of about 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

That was not the janitors closet?

Pics of your setup and build would most helpful.

 

[Kacey Elle]

@aart Nope, we're in the leadership storage area--a good-sized room. Pics are below!

 

[aart]

Nice brooder...looks familiar.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-brooder-palace.67730/

If you get a chance to take pic of the construction of the 'wool hen' that would be great.

 

[Kacey Elle]

@aart LOL! Believe it or not, we didn't plagiarize yours! I'll get pics of the wool hen later. Basically, we took an old milk crate and attached felt to the inside. Then we made a wood housing for it. The felt that we drape over the entrance is not attached.