- Thread starter
- #21
BellsCluckers
Chirping
- Apr 21, 2015
- 143
- 6
- 86
Very cool and I love the video!I'm another one who will not use lamps of any kind brooding chicks. That's absolutely no reflection on your setup, @Storybook Farm - it's beautiful and having the chicks at eye level and with the ability to self regulate is spot on! Jaded I might be, but I look at it and still see a lamp warming chicks. But if there was only one "right" way to do this, this entire web site could be read in half an hour, and your setup is perfect for someone who might not be comfortable trying out Mama Heating Pad. Personal comfort zones are important to take into account.
I brood outdoors in a wire brooder pen in the run, right out there among the adults, and have for the last few years, 8 batches of chicks. Here in northwestern Wyoming our spring "chick season" still has temps in the 20s, often dropping into the teens, and we've been known to get snow in June. They can walk around it on 3 sides of the brooder, the chicks learn to be chickens by watching them, and I have full integration by the time the chicks are at the end of their 4th week. At that time the entire brooder comes out, since the chicks have been off all heat by the end of their third week anyway. From day one they learn that sundown is "under Mama" time, they tuck themselves in, and sleep all night long, exactly as they would do under a broody hen. Works for me! And in the end that's what's important - what works for us and healthy, happy chicks.
Edited to add: My good friend @lazy gardener brings up an excellent point. The number of chicks we are brooding makes a world of difference. Mama Heating Pad is more for the person with 15-20 chicks, although great adaptations for more have been made.