Yeah Early Christmas Present !! Lavender Orps !!

[kbreak]

Early Christmas present. Got 8 nine day old lavender orpingtons. So cute. My first time to have chicks without the momma. Lots of questions.
9 days old what temp? I have red 250 watt heat lamp. Gonna be to hot. Keeps running temp up to 120 degrees in an hour. Can I use regular light bulb?
I have them inside tonight. When I move them out the heat lamp maybe ok.
I got plastic container with lid. Cut out one side and gonna put hardware cloth over opening. Do I need to drill small holes at the top sides for ventilation?
I put paper towel down in the bottom. Then I put some hay at the end with the light. Is that ok?
Just need to feed chick starter and water?
Tonight is their first night without a hen. I hope I do this right. My other chicks are 6 weeks old but they have had their momma the whole time.
If there is any thing else I need to know please advise me. Only had chickens for about a month. But I am addicted.

 

[hollyk]

Yeah YOu on the Christmas gift. Talk about a gift that will keep on giving...

The set up you have looks good. Just move the heat lamp far enough away that the temp is around 95'. That is what I do and have had very good success. The chicks are fine without the hen.

They are beautiful.

 

[kbreak]

Thanks !! Would a 75 watt regular bulb work? I just didn't know if it would be to bright.

 

[hollyk]

I have never been able to keep chicks that young warm with anything less than a heat lamp. I tried last month and the chicks chirped so loud and let me know that they were not happy with that regular old bulb!

 

[kbreak]

I have a problem. I have no way of rigging up something so I can raise the light. Can you get heat lamp bulbs in different watts? I am sorry. I am sure I am asking dumb questions. I have been researching and reading on here for about 6 weeks. Didn't think my husband was gonna let me get the chicks so I really wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be. I wanted a brooder pen outside. I have my plans but it isn't built. Someone had mentioned taking my hen that is with her 6 week old chicks and try putting her with these 9 day olds. I think she is about ready to ditch her own. So i am not gonna do that. Thanks for your advice.

 

[av8rwife]

We've hatched our own eggs a couple times now. When they first hatched we kept the brooder at 90 degrees, the next week it went to 80 and the week after that it went to 70. We have out heatlamp attached to a stick that hangs above the brooder. We have (5) 1 1/2 month old chicks in the larger area of the brooder and the 2 week old babies in a smaller seperate area of the brooder. We just put in a perch for the smaller babies and they are loving it. They've learned how to jump from the perch to the top of the box and just hang out there a little bit and jump back down to their area of the box. We have chicken wire between to the two sections of the brooder so the bigger chicks can see the babies. We're hoping this will help when we integrate all of them into the BIG coop/run with the 9 month olds. I also understand that when you are integrating new chickens with the existing flock you should do it at night. This way the ones that are already roosting will wake up with the newbies and everything should be good. We've not tried this yet but I will soon. Good luck with your babies. I've been wanting to get some Lavender Orpingtons but haven't found any here in NW AR.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Quote:
Yes, you can get lower wattages for red light bulbs. They're hard to find in the red color though. Try a pet store in the reptile section. I've found 50 watt, and 100 watt bulbs there.

I love your little peeps! Mine are typical teenagers now. Only interested in me because I provide food.

 

[Tripp16]

Sooo cute!! I would love to have some Lav Orps. They are pretty and sweet. What more can you ask for?

 

[michelleshenhouse]

Very cute chicks!! I wanting some lav chicks as well.

 

[poseygrace]

Yes, I found a lower wattage bulb at a local feed store. You can also raise your heat lamp by attaching it to a folding ladder placed next to the brooder. That's what I did. Good luck, they are ADORABLE! I have a couple of adult Lav Orps and they are soooo sweet and pretty.