Wool hen ?

[Hacklesfordays]

I’ve done some research on wool hens to use for baby chicks. I do have a heat plate for my brooder but was interested to see if anyone else has had success with this method. I watched some videos and have seen some photos but would love some personal experiences.

 

[tdan]

no Idea but I'm subscribed to find out. Also what temps did it work in

 

[CindyinSD]

If you do a site search (upper right corner), you’ll find some results (quite a few, actually), on wool hens. A lot depends on your climate, time of year, etc. I haven’t and probably never will use this method but it’s a fascinating study.

 

[Hacklesfordays]

I’ve read through them I’m looking more for pictures of completed ones. I know in theory how to make one. Everything I’ve read says it can keep them warm inside with pretty low ambient temperatures. Mine will be inside the house with a low of 60 in the room. The videos I’ve watched said it kept the chicks at a warm 95 while they were being housed outside. So it seems promising. I would just feel better hearing other people experiences with them.

 

[CindyinSD]

Yes, I would, too. I think you’d be safe to put one in the living room or wherever they can be closely watched for a while to discern their comfort level. They’ll scream at you if they’re not comfy, until they sink into a cold-induced stupor. As long as you’re there you can intervene as needed. If they're complaining, they're either cold or they need the lights out.

Do you have chicks now or are you preparing for the future? Are you new to poultry? Where (approx) do you live? It sounds like you plan to brood in your house. I brood mine in the garage and (as you see under my avatar) live in SD. Not just SD, but a mile high in the Black Hills, so that adds up to a significant quantity of cold.

It sounds like you plan to brood your chicks in the house. I do mine in the garage. The first time, a couple years ago, I was pretty worried about this because, though we have a heater, the garage is pretty cold. I never used a heat lamp for them; only a brooder panel. I got my chicks in the mail, so they were three days old when I received them and they did just fine. Two days later I put them outside in their new coop with the heat panel. Though it was fall and nighttime temps were in the 30s, they did fine.

I would have had them inside but my husband's doctor said no. He was a recent bone marrow transplant recipient. As it turns out, it works so well to keep them in the garage that I've kept doing it. I'm not sure I'd do this with a wool hen, at least not at first. It IS healthier for your family not to have them inside, but if everyone is out of toddlerhood and no health issues, it's probably not a big deal for the first week or so. (Do not let anyone rub the babies against their faces or kiss them. You may get away with it, but you'll kick yourself if your kids are some of the unlucky ones.) After that, I'll bet the wool hen would work fine with the 60° temps you expect, and possibly colder.

I'm almost talking myself into this, but I'm planning to put my current batch in a smaller isolation coop inside the unheated greenhouse where my grown hens are spending the winter, so maybe I'll do one as a supplement to a heating pad encased in a plasticized feed bag that I use as a larger brooding "panel" (aka "mama hen heating pad"). The commercial ones are only big enough to cover the number of chicks they're advertised to cover for the first week or so.

 

[duckhouse42]

I have scrap alpaca fleece so thought I would try that with my single duckling. I have the pen inside my house. I'll let you know how it goes. I've put a big handful of fleece loose ( not in a bag) in the pen.

 

[duckhouse42]

I have scrap alpaca fleece so thought I would try that with my single duckling. I have the pen inside my house. I'll let you know how it goes. I've put a big handful of fleece loose ( not in a bag) in the pen.

So far so good, the duckling tucks himself into the bag with the fleece and stays toasty warm. The bag is just a pouch made of regular fleece materials and I put a big handlful of alpaca unspun fleece in it for warmth. The duckling tucks himself in as far as he needs to stay warm.