Why wont anyone help me? added pics!! :)

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Quote:
Im still debating the tote box thing! AGGGHHH

 

[Redley]

Iheartchicks<3

:

Quote:
Im still debating the tote box thing! AGGGHHH

The plastic tote or a big cardboard box is a great way to keep them safe and in a confined area, without fear of them getting out and freezing or something getting in (you may not know what small predators you may have that found some way in until you provide a temptation like fresh food). You have enough room that you may go to an appliance store to see if you can begin with a refrigerator box. You could put a partition in it and begin small, then move the partition and make it bigger when they begin to grow. Some people on this forum have used bales of straw to form a movable barrier for the chicks, but you'd have to do a search on that. Not sure how well that works out, but it sounds like a good idea to this newbie (as long as there is no risk for fire with the heat lamps)

Try to start off with ONE 250W heat lamp, it's a TON of power and should be good for the small amount of chicks you are getting.
I would get some type of thermometer that you can measure the heat, check it throughout the day and the night. (you don't need to camp out in the barn, just check a few times with major temperature changes), just because they will be in a barn before they get their true feathers to keep them warm and protect them.

I am going to quote directly from Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
page 314 - Brooder Heat:
"A chick's body has little in the way of temperature control, although a groop of chicks can deep themselves warm by huddling together in a small space - which is why a box full of newly hatched chicks may be shipped out by mail. When given sufficient space to exercise, eat, and drink, chicks need an external source of warmth while their down gives way to feathers, starting at about 20 days of age.
Chicks tend to feather out more quickly in cooler weather, but if the air temperature is quite low, they need auxiliary heat longer than chicks brooded in warmer weather. For this reason chicks hatched in winter or early spring typically require brooder warmth longer than chicks hatched in late spring or early summer.
Start the brooding temperature at approximately 95 degrees F and reduce is approximately 5 degrees F each week until the brooder temperature is the same as ambient temperature. Within the chicks' comfort zone, the more quickly you reduce the heat level, the more quickly the chicks will feather out.
An incandescent lightbulb is the least expensive heat source for batches of 25 to 50 chicks. If your brooding area is large enough to handle the extra heat, you're better off using two bulbs, in case one burns out when you're not around. Screw each bulb into a fixture with a reflector and hang it over the brooder. The heat may be adjusted two ways: by raising or lowering the fixture and by decreasing or increasing the bulb's wattage. Start with 100 or 60-watt bulbs, depending on the size of the brooder and the number of chicks. One 250-watt infrared heat lamp provides sufficient heat for 25 to 100 chicks.
...
An infrared lamp gets quite hot, so use a porcelin rather than a plastic socket because the plastic might melt. A standard brooder lamp holder has a porcelain socket, as well as a couple of stout wires bent across the front so the lamp can't come into direct contact with the bedding - for instance, if the lamp falls - or other flammables and create a fire hazard.
Hang the lamp by an adjustable chain, starting about 18 inches above the chicks. As the chicks grow, raise the lamp to reduce heat. A general rule is to raise the lamp about 3 inches each week.
Be especially watchful with chicks confined in a small brooder, since an infrared lamp can get pretty hot and you don't want the chicks to be cooked alive. As they get older and require less heat, give them more room so they can move away from the heat, or switch from infrared lamps to incandescent bulbs."

Hope that helps!​

 

[mrsteiner]

I wouldn't try to heat the whole barn. If you have a small area where you can contain the chicks (like with some brooder guard or a box.) Just hang a heat lamp over that area and test with a thermometer. The chicks need their space to be at 95 degrees for the first week, so choose your space and test with a thermometer. Start with one bulb and see if you need more.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Quote:
Im still debating the tote box thing! AGGGHHH

The plastic tote or a big cardboard box is a great way to keep them safe and in a confined area, without fear of them getting out and freezing or something getting in (you may not know what small predators you may have that found some way in until you provide a temptation like fresh food). You have enough room that you may go to an appliance store to see if you can begin with a refrigerator box. You could put a partition in it and begin small, then move the partition and make it bigger when they begin to grow. Some people on this forum have used bales of straw to form a movable barrier for the chicks, but you'd have to do a search on that. Not sure how well that works out, but it sounds like a good idea to this newbie (as long as there is no risk for fire with the heat lamps)

Try to start off with ONE 250W heat lamp, it's a TON of power and should be good for the small amount of chicks you are getting.
I would get some type of thermometer that you can measure the heat, check it throughout the day and the night. (you don't need to camp out in the barn, just check a few times with major temperature changes), just because they will be in a barn before they get their true feathers to keep them warm and protect them.

I am going to quote directly from Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
page 314 - Brooder Heat:
"A chick's body has little in the way of temperature control, although a groop of chicks can deep themselves warm by huddling together in a small space - which is why a box full of newly hatched chicks may be shipped out by mail. When given sufficient space to exercise, eat, and drink, chicks need an external source of warmth while their down gives way to feathers, starting at about 20 days of age.
Chicks tend to feather out more quickly in cooler weather, but if the air temperature is quite low, they need auxiliary heat longer than chicks brooded in warmer weather. For this reason chicks hatched in winter or early spring typically require brooder warmth longer than chicks hatched in late spring or early summer.
Start the brooding temperature at approximately 95 degrees F and reduce is approximately 5 degrees F each week until the brooder temperature is the same as ambient temperature. Within the chicks' comfort zone, the more quickly you reduce the heat level, the more quickly the chicks will feather out.
An incandescent lightbulb is the least expensive heat source for batches of 25 to 50 chicks. If your brooding area is large enough to handle the extra heat, you're better off using two bulbs, in case one burns out when you're not around. Screw each bulb into a fixture with a reflector and hang it over the brooder. The heat may be adjusted two ways: by raising or lowering the fixture and by decreasing or increasing the bulb's wattage. Start with 100 or 60-watt bulbs, depending on the size of the brooder and the number of chicks. One 250-watt infrared heat lamp provides sufficient heat for 25 to 100 chicks.
...
An infrared lamp gets quite hot, so use a porcelin rather than a plastic socket because the plastic might melt. A standard brooder lamp holder has a porcelain socket, as well as a couple of stout wires bent across the front so the lamp can't come into direct contact with the bedding - for instance, if the lamp falls - or other flammables and create a fire hazard.
Hang the lamp by an adjustable chain, starting about 18 inches above the chicks. As the chicks grow, raise the lamp to reduce heat. A general rule is to raise the lamp about 3 inches each week.
Be especially watchful with chicks confined in a small brooder, since an infrared lamp can get pretty hot and you don't want the chicks to be cooked alive. As they get older and require less heat, give them more room so they can move away from the heat, or switch from infrared lamps to incandescent bulbs."

Hope that helps!

It helps a ton! I think i will start out with just a box and go bigger every few weeks.. Thank you for all of the help. I promise that it is completely predator proof to rats and such. The windows are too high and the wire is too small for anything like a raccoon. I will make sure that They are completely safe. The lamp would be hanged with zip ties and would have the metal brackets to prevent fire. i have 2 porcelin brooder lamps so i should be okay! Thanks.