What is a comfortable amount of chicks under one heat lamp?

[Kimbristow]

My brooder is 3ft 9" x 2ft 7" with a standard ceramic heat lamp. I have a new incubator that holds 48 chicken eggs, I know that all the eggs will not hatch, but at the same time I don't wish to over load the brooder and make my chicks suffer with over crowding.

This is the first time hatching more than 20 birds and your advice will mean a lot.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Some years ago I ordered 50 chicks at the end of the season and was all set with a smaller version of an Ohio brooder when I was told I probably wouldn't get any.
In a rush, I ordered 25 from another source. A few days after they arrived I got a call that the original 50 were coming.
I quickly built the second brooder.
It's basically a hover with a couple heat lamps where the chicks can go warm up but lots of cool space outside the hover.
I don't even bother checking temperature.

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/hkmw/downloads/46524.pdf



One heat emitter should be OK for yours. They'll hunker together if they get cold.

 

[Kimbristow]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, you have put my mind at ease.

 

[azygous]

Excuse me for jumping in here, but the brooder you plan on using is barely large enough for six chicks let alone four dozen!

Let's assume only half those 48 eggs hatch. You will need a brooder the size of a stock tank to adequately house them without overcrowding. Baby chicks are not like Burger King hamburger patties to be warmed like so much meat. Your brooder will only suffice for about a week, and even then, that many chicks will not be able to comfortably move in and out of the heat zone to warm up and cool down.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

azygous makes a good point. It's hard to count your chickens before they hatch. That space should handle up to 20 for the first week but will quickly need something larger so be ready.
Normally I have a full or half of a 8'X12' building for chicks but occasionally the building is already full or in the dead of winter it's too cold out there if around zero. In that case I buy a few large moving boxes at Lowes. They're about $1.50 each and you can cut doorways between multiple boxes. I drop the heat emitter in one put food and water in another and a third for lounging. It's quick, cheap and easy.

 

[Kimbristow]

Thank you so much for the information, it has helped a great deal, my fingers are now crossed for a good hatch in 4 weeks time.

 

[Kimbristow]

Thank you for jumping in as the more information I have and can use is going to help me raise happy healthy chickens.