What to do with chicks when cleaning brooder

[lazy gardener]

What ever you use for a brooder will need a lid on it. Baby chicks should start out with a minimum of 1 s.f./chick and by the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, IMO, they should have 2 s.f./chick. What are you planning to use for a heat source? If you have not already bought it, I suggest that you look at the option of using a heating pad. There are many benefits to using a heating pad: much more natural for the chicks. Safer. Less chance of overheating the chicks. More natural brooding experience of the heating pad fosters improved social development, and helps them acclimate to natural day/night cycles. They feather out faster, and they are more content. Heating pad raised chicks sing themselves to sleep. They all go to bed at the same time, instead of being awake at all hours day and night with a heat lamp shining down on them 24/7/ There is an article re: HP brooding at the bottom of my signature. If you use a rubbermaid type of container, be very careful as it's very easy to overheat your chicks. They only need a very small area that is warm, and the rest of the brooder should be 20* cooler than the heated spot.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I put mine in a cardboard shoebox with some paper towel as lining. It was what I had around that had a lid and could get thrown away once the chicks moved outside.

 

[Flock In Texas]

I'm doing the MHP in the coop. They spend much of their day in the enclosed grazing area below the tractor. They like to run up and down the trap door. I'll close the trap door when they are all below for cleaning. Temps are in the 80s here and they are thriving. MHP is inside a 5 gallon bucket and they huddle up inside at night. They did ok with temps in the mid 30s when they were less than a week old. They are 3 weeks now.

 

[BYCforlife]

I have bought a heat lamp already, but I did not think of a heat pad. Can you adjust the temperature on a heat pad?
I am going to buy a thermometer, and I will make sure to leave it for a day to make sure the temperature is perfect. I cut a hole in the top of my bin for air and a space for a heat lamp. I think I will upload a picture of my bin, where should I upload it?
Should I wrap chicken wire around my heat lamp also? I have a fixture for it, so it would not be directly touching the bulb. I hear that chicks can fly very well. Would they get hurt if they went too close to the heat lamp?

 

[Flock In Texas]

I'm a newb, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Whether you use a heat lamp or a heating pad, the chicks need a warmer area and a cooler area, so that they can self regulate to the temperature that they like. I only have 3 weeks experience with MHP in an outdoor tractor, but they are doing great. I have no older chickens, so the coop is a giant brooder. 32 s.f. and 4 ft tall above a 30" 32 s.f. grazing area below. MHP is in a 5 gallon bucket. By the time they outgrow it, they won't need it. I have 5 chicks and live in DFW, TX.(warmer climate)

 

[BYCforlife]

Okay, thanks! Although you may say you are a newb, you are most likely much better than me! I know quite a bit, but I have to say it from books, not from experience.

 

[Flock In Texas]

Most of my experience is lurking here and common sense. I'm pretty smart with a lot of book knowledge, but lacking in experience more than I'd like.

 

[Spartan22]

I am a newbie

every year on brooding chicks

so far I've never plunged to further spend money on mhp or brinsea heating pad momma, though been tempted. My 125w red light @night and my 125w clear bulbs for daytime on timers(got plenty of timers from Christmas decor) are sufficient the last 4 spring times. I haven't lost a chick in 4 yrs either, making sure the heat lamp has safety net (chicken wire) on top of my brooding boxes

and secured with wires or strip ties above, the $5 indoor outdoor thermometer worked awesome to keep temps monitored.

I normally start with one 2x3 box the first week and add a 2nd box (grill box or furniture boxes are awesome) to connect to the first box making multiple rooms (warm area, cool area and/Or food/water area. Making it easy to clean if needed, I blocked the chicks in one box room, while cleaning the other box room and vice versa, and presto their brooder is clean without lifting them one by one off the brooder. Topping off the beddings every couple of days kept the chickies dry and clean and happy. At the end of brooding time I would have connected 3 rooms (boxes together) dry and no smell, Here's a good example.

 

[BYCforlife]

I am a newbie

every year on brooding chicks

so far I've never plunged to further spend money on mhp or brinsea heating pad momma, though been tempted. My 125w red light @night and my 125w clear bulbs for daytime on timers(got plenty of timers from Christmas decor) are sufficient the last 4 spring times. I haven't lost a chick in 4 yrs either, making sure the heat lamp has safety net (chicken wire) on top of my brooding boxes

and secured with wires or strip ties above, the $5 indoor outdoor thermometer worked awesome to keep temps monitored.

I normally start with one 2x3 box the first week and add a 2nd box (grill box or furniture boxes are awesome) to connect to the first box making multiple rooms (warm area, cool area and/Or food/water area. Making it easy to clean if needed, I blocked the chicks in one box room, while cleaning the other box room and vice versa, and presto their brooder is clean without lifting them one by one off the brooder. Topping off the beddings every couple of days kept the chickies dry and clean and happy. At the end of brooding time I would have connected 3 rooms (boxes together) dry and no smell, Here's a good example.

That's funny, I heard that white bulbs drive the chicks crazy. I heard that also from a friend who lost 600 out of 1000 chicks after stressing them out from white light. but, if it works for you, I don't know what happened to theirs!

 

[BYCforlife]

Here is my bin for the chicks when I get them, I cut a hole in the top for air and the heat lamp. There is a hole with no chicken wire where the lamp fixture is.