My chicks should be shipped tomorrow!! So excited!The brooder (an old 50+ gallon aquarium) is pretty much ready -- might make some changes to how we mount the heat lamp. Not sure if we will use the aquarium the entire time. Once the chicks get a little bigger we might move them to a large all metal dog crate.
Yeah, I know you don't want to put a hole in that dog crate...but! By having your heat lamp at an angle like that it will light up the entire crate not leaving any "darker/cooler" areas for them to go to if they get a little overheated. It would be sort of like being in an interrogation room with a searchlight blasting on you....yikes!!
Well I tried to convince the DH to let me cut a hole in the dog crate, but no go. So with my thermometer at the ready now I hung the lamp from the ceiling and tried another approach. Now it's pointing into the back and my theory is that the front will be cooler with the grate door to let some air in. StIll letting everything warm up yet though. Hopefully this gives less of an interrogation feel as well! The wall of the crate gives them a nice darker area at least.
Well I tried to convince the DH to let me cut a hole in the dog crate, but no go. So with my thermometer at the ready now I hung the lamp from the ceiling and tried another approach. Now it's pointing into the back and my theory is that the front will be cooler with the grate door to let some air in. StIll letting everything warm up yet though. Hopefully this gives less of an interrogation feel as well! The wall of the crate gives them a nice darker area at least.
I think that would be perfect! I will definitely make this to offer more of an escape from the lamp.That would probably work better! Maybe cut a cardboard wall divider with an open door in it to divide the back where the light is and the front where it's open? Put the food and water in the front away from the heat and that will give them a very good place to escape the heat if they need to. It's projects like this where you cannot live without duct tape
I'd take the top off of it, but it's more for the safety of the chicks. I have 3 cats and the brooder is set up in a spare bedroom. The door is closed but god forbid someone sneaks by my feet I want to make sure they stay secure where no kitties can get to them. Thanks for all the input!! Tweaking and minor adjustments almost down to the wire!For the first week you could remove the top altogether. They will start flying about at between one and two weeks, at four weeks they are good little flyers. How many are you getting? Are they in your bedroom? I used a Vegetable bin from a grocery store and when they got old enough to fly I covered it with some hardware wire.
My chicks I lost last week (all of them) by the post office putting them in the back of a semi in 95 degree weather for 16 hours, ship tomorrow. I feel none of the excitement I did last week. I am terrified and praying for those little babies. I cant even get all the breeds I wanted. I will call immediately tomorrow morning to check the over hatch, I am short my Black Copper Marans, Welsummers and Lt. Brahmas and Golden laced Wyandottes. No chance at getting Blue Laced Red Wyandotte. I am going to drive the 4 hours to Denver to get them rather than them fly into Omaha and then be shipped all the way across the state by truck. I am sure I would have the same result and I just cant go through that again. It was devastating. It still hurts. I did find out they were alive in Omaha, so obviously the FedEx knows what they are doing. The US post office says they are mail just like anything else and they go in the back of the truck. Watch out folks with as hot as it is getting. Find out where the air hub is they will be flying into and consider going and getting them there so no more tiny babies bake. Everyone please say a prayer for these guys, and for my drive to Denver. Thanks!
BBBMy chicks I lost last week (all of them) by the post office putting them in the back of a semi in 95 degree weather for 16 hours, ship tomorrow. I feel none of the excitement I did last week. I am terrified and praying for those little babies. I cant even get all the breeds I wanted. I will call immediately tomorrow morning to check the over hatch, I am short my Black Copper Marans, Welsummers and Lt. Brahmas and Golden laced Wyandottes. No chance at getting Blue Laced Red Wyandotte. I am going to drive the 4 hours to Denver to get them rather than them fly into Omaha and then be shipped all the way across the state by truck. I am sure I would have the same result and I just cant go through that again. It was devastating. It still hurts. I did find out they were alive in Omaha, so obviously the FedEx knows what they are doing. The US post office says they are mail just like anything else and they go in the back of the truck. Watch out folks with as hot as it is getting. Find out where the air hub is they will be flying into and consider going and getting them there so no more tiny babies bake. Everyone please say a prayer for these guys, and for my drive to Denver. Thanks!
