Which should I choose - heatlamp or brooder?

[mattsom1981]

Hi everyone,

Well I only have a few eggs in my Brinsea Mini incubator and this is my first time attempting to hatch some chicks. I do not plan on making this a regular thing so I dont want to spend more money than is nessacary here.

Thinking about when and If my chicks hatch, what is the best heat source solution for me? I have been looking at the brooder's which look great but seem overkill for just 1-4 chicks. The heatlamps are obviously cheaper but Im a massive worry-pot when it comes to fire hazards so not sure what to go for here.

The "Comfort 25" brooder ive seen seems reasonble for the price, but is it too big? Any help much appreciated here!!




Kind regards and thanks,


Matt

 

[ChickenGrass]

I think brooders are best
1.they are efficient
2.there isn't a fire hazard
3.there I sent a light all the time
So the chicks can get sleep
The heat lamp had none of the above
There not as efficient
They always have a light on
And they have a much bigger hazard of a fire
Here's a link for the brinsea brooder
https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/ecoglow-20-chick-brooder
But then again some people might come on
And say the heat lamp is best
I have had my brooder
The same as the one in the link
For 4 years and has had many chicks
In it and is still going strong
It is probably cheaper in the long run
To have the chick brooder
And if you decide you don't want to hatch chicks
Anymore the brooder is easy to sell
Much easier than selling a heat bulb
But it's all your choice
But I would go with the brooder
Hope this helps
Heres a link to one I found for sale
You can change the price to pound from euro
https://www.maceoinltd.com/poultry-...cken-brooders/electric-brooders/?currency=GBP

 

[mattsom1981]

Hello Chickengrass, thankyou for your very informative and detailed reply. On the back of that I have gone ahead and purchased the Brinsea Ecoglow 20 from Amazon. I managed to get it on a "warehouse deal" a little bit cheaper! cheep cheep lol!

While I am here, I was wondering if newly hatched chicks upset eggs that havent yet hatched? I have a couple eggs in my incubator that are about a week older than the others.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Ok goodluck with it
The un-hatched chicks
Won't get disturbed by the hatched ones
It happens me because sometimes chicks hatch 2 days late
And others might hatch 1 day early
So there's always going to be a chick
Moving the eggs around
Also do you know you leave the hatched
Chick in the incubator for 24-48 hours before
You put him in the brooder so he can dry off
You won't need to give him food or water
Because be four they hatch they absorb
All of the yolk and can live for 48-72 hours
After hatching without food and water
Also if you can it's best to put 2 chicks into the
Brooder at the same time so they have company
But you don't have to do this
I usually keep the chicks in the incubator for 24 hours after they hatch
But as I said they can stay in for up to 48 hours
But if the chick that hatched is causing damage
And no others hatch so far just take him out
But keep and eye on him if he is in the brooder on his own
Like if you can rub him etc.
Untill he has company from another chick
And 1 last thing is
If no chicks hatch within the 21 day
Give them until the 25-26 day in the incubator
In case they hatch late
Goodluck

 

[jrjoplin]

Hello Chickengrass, thankyou for your very informative and detailed reply. On the back of that I have gone ahead and purchased the Brinsea Ecoglow 20 from Amazon. I managed to get it on a "warehouse deal" a little bit cheaper! cheep cheep lol!

While I am here, I was wondering if newly hatched chicks upset eggs that havent yet hatched? I have a couple eggs in my incubator that are about a week older than the others.

The hatched chicks won't upset the eggs but you won't want to leave them in the incubator more than a day or so. Just like a shipped chick they're good for about three days on their own but you'll want to get them in the brooder with food and water.

 

[mattsom1981]

Also do you know you leave the hatched
Chick in the incubator for 24-48 hours before
You put him in the brooder so he can dry off

I did learn that I need to leave them in the incubator for a while, but I wasnt sure on the length of time I will leave them in for 24 hours then! And thankyou jrjoplin for your input! appreciated as always

 

[azygous]

If you can still cancel your order for the Ecoglo, I sure would. Many of us are now using a simple, inexpensive $30, heating pad for brooding chicks, either indoors or even outside in all sorts of temperatures.

See "Mama-heating pad in the brooder" thread on this forum.

 

[3riverschick]

I did learn that I need to leave them in the incubator for a while, but I wasn't sure on the length of time I will leave them in for 24 hours then! And thankyou jrjoplin for your input! appreciated as always

I hatch all my eggs in 2 of the Brinsea Advance Mini Incubators. I just love them! Holds 7 eggs each.
I have found that if a chick hatches, it doesn't impact the other unhatched eggs if you lift the lid and quickly remove the egg shell. The incubator is so small it recovers temp and humidity really quickly. It gives the hatched chicks more room to move around so they don't stumble over the unhatched eggs so much. I do watch the unhatched eggs to make sure they don't get tumbled into an upside-down position. If they do, I quickly remove the lid and right the egg. Once I had an egg not hatch because the hatched chicks kept it upside-down and the chick couldn't get out. I only had that happen once when I wasn't removing the extra egg shells. No problems now that I am removing the shells and giving the hatched chicks more room to move around. Still, it is better to leave the chicks inside till they dry off.
Best Success,
Karen