Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Swiss]

I almost wasn't going to check on them before I went to bed last night. I am glad I did, though!! They were all huddled up in the corner opposite of the brooder plate! So, I moved them all to the brooder plate and they settled in.

 

[gtaus]

I almost wasn't going to check on them before I went to bed last night. I am glad I did, though!! They were all huddled up in the corner opposite of the brooder plate! So, I moved them all to the brooder plate and they settled in.

I'm still old school on brooding chicks. I prefer the heat lamps I have used for 30+ years. That way I just look into the brooder to see how the chicks are behaving. Are they under the lights, outside the lights, or that golden medium where they come and go.

I have no experience with brooder plates, mama tents, or newer stuff like that. I just like the fact I can see if the heat lamp is on and working, or off and needs to be replaced. I don't know how one would monitor the brooder plates, tents, etc...

I have heard horror stories about some of those warming tents failing at night and you wake up in the morning to have chicks frozen to death. And you can't see any of those chicks that are under the tent. That bothers me.

For my setup, I always have 2 heat lamps in the brooder at all times. In my garage, here in northern Minnesota, the nighttime temps get below freezing. If I lost all heat for the chicks, they would not make it through the night in those early weeks. That's why I use 2 heat lamps - just in case...

Well, all that and frankly I have been successful with the old school heat lamps and see no reason to change my system.

If it works, don't fix it!

 

[chickengr]

That makes good sense. I hate to cut up nice sheets of plywood unless it is absolutely necessary. For a temporary brooder, I would have just left the sheets uncut as much as possible, too.



You will find that they are fully feathered out around 6 weeks. I leave my chicks in the brooder until week 8 just to let them grow a bit more before I introduce them to the adult hens. At that age, they still get picked on, but they are big enough to run away.

I always get nervous when I introduce the new chicks to the existing flock. Last time it went OK, but still I worry....

FYI, I have learned that I can use a deep bedding type of litter in my brooder. When the chicks are so small, they don't have big poo so your pine shavings, or whatever litter you use, can probably just be fluffed up every other day. The poo works its way to the bottom and the top layer is refreshened. Then, after a couple of weeks, I start adding a fresh layer of litter maybe once or twice a week as they grow. Fluffing up any spots that might have more chicken poo than others. In any case, I don't clean out my brooder litter the entire 8 weeks I have them in the brooder. When I move the chicks out, then I just dump the used litter into the chicken run for composting.

I only mention this because when I got my first chicks - 30+ years ago? - I used to clean out the brooder litter every day. Experience has taught me that it's just not needed. I enjoy having the chicks in the brooder much more now that I have gone to a deep bedding litter system in the brooder as well as in the main coop.

Of course, that all depends on how many chicks you have in the brooder space. If your nose smells the brooder is getting off, then change out that litter. My highly tuned and sensitive nose is my main alarm for any cleaning action needed.

It is amazing how fast your chicks will grow. I suggest taking pictures of them as often as you can because it will surprise you how fast they change from their day-old fluff into their first feathers. It's a wonderful thing to be part of. And, who doesn't like baby pictures?

Good luck on your new chicks.

how do you keep their water clean? that is my nightmare with chicks.

 

[chickengr]

I'm still old school on brooding chicks. I prefer the heat lamps I have used for 30+ years. That way I just look into the brooder to see how the chicks are behaving. Are they under the lights, outside the lights, or that golden medium where they come and go.

I have no experience with brooder plates, mama tents, or newer stuff like that. I just like the fact I can see if the heat lamp is on and working, or off and needs to be replaced. I don't know how one would monitor the brooder plates, tents, etc...

I have heard horror stories about some of those warming tents failing at night and you wake up in the morning to have chicks frozen to death. And you can't see any of those chicks that are under the tent. That bothers me.

For my setup, I always have 2 heat lamps in the brooder at all times. In my garage, here in northern Minnesota, the nighttime temps get below freezing. If I lost all heat for the chicks, they would not make it through the night in those early weeks. That's why I use 2 heat lamps - just in case...

Well, all that and frankly I have been successful with the old school heat lamps and see no reason to change my system.

If it works, don't fix it!

my albanian neighbor (from my old place) taught me to use a smaller box with some pillow filling to keep chicks warm at night. works great. as I had a lamp accident (luckily woke up on time) I prefer to avoid to use lamp when I sleep. also I find chicks less stressed when sleep at night.

 

[fuzzi]

how do you keep their water clean? that is my nightmare with chicks.

Change it repeatedly. Currently my chicks have two waterers in case they knock one over.

 

[Molpet]

how do you keep their water clean? that is my nightmare with chicks.

I have mine on an upside down bowl or a brick. Something to raise it up above the bedding a couple inches

 

[Swiss]

I'm still old school on brooding chicks. I prefer the heat lamps I have used for 30+ years. That way I just look into the brooder to see how the chicks are behaving. Are they under the lights, outside the lights, or that golden medium where they come and go.

I have no experience with brooder plates, mama tents, or newer stuff like that. I just like the fact I can see if the heat lamp is on and working, or off and needs to be replaced. I don't know how one would monitor the brooder plates, tents, etc...

I have heard horror stories about some of those warming tents failing at night and you wake up in the morning to have chicks frozen to death. And you can't see any of those chicks that are under the tent. That bothers me.

For my setup, I always have 2 heat lamps in the brooder at all times. In my garage, here in northern Minnesota, the nighttime temps get below freezing. If I lost all heat for the chicks, they would not make it through the night in those early weeks. That's why I use 2 heat lamps - just in case...

Well, all that and frankly I have been successful with the old school heat lamps and see no reason to change my system.

If it works, don't fix it!

My brooder plate has a red light that is on if it is plugged in. I also think they just "got lost" at bedtime because of being in a new much bigger place.

 

[gtaus]

how do you keep their water clean? that is my nightmare with chicks.

I have mini water founts with mason jars which I use for chicks. They do indeed make a mess with the water. I clean it out once or twice a day as needed. I don't know of any shortcuts with keeping clean water in the coop.

Here is a picture close to what I have, except my founts are plastic...

I am still using the same chick brooder equipment I purchased 30+ years ago. It still works...

 

[gtaus]

my albanian neighbor (from my old place) taught me to use a smaller box with some pillow filling to keep chicks warm at night. works great. as I had a lamp accident (luckily woke up on time) I prefer to avoid to use lamp when I sleep. also I find chicks less stressed when sleep at night.

Heat lamps have the potential to be dangerous.

I always have two methods of securing heat lamps so they cannot fall into the brooder litter and start a fire. I have used two chains on each heat lamp for years, and lately I have a wire mesh between the heat lamp and the brooder box. If my heat lamp falls down, it lands on the wire mesh and never inside the brooder itself. You can never be too safe, IMHO.

 

[gtaus]

Change it repeatedly. Currently my chicks have two waterers in case they knock one over.

I do that as well. Two waterers in different locations in the brooder.

I have mine on an upside down bowl or a brick. Something to raise it up above the bedding a couple inches

After the first couple of days, and I am certain that the chicks know where to get their water, I will start putting it on small pieces of wood just enough to get it up and off the litter and keep it a bit more cleaner. As the chicks grow, I put the waterers on higher blocks. By the end of 8 weeks, I usually have the waterer sitting on a piece of 2X6 laid flat.

My brooder plate has a red light that is on if it is plugged in. I also think they just "got lost" at bedtime because of being in a new much bigger place.

I have no experience with brooder plates. My chicks always seem to find the heat under the heat lamps. That's about the extent of what I know.

We have all heard about fires caused by heat lamps falling into the litter. Those are real horror stories, to be sure. But there are many stories about these newer plates and heating tents that fail and chicks dying from the cold before you know about the malfunction.

It takes me no time to ensure that my heat lamps are working, and I can see the status of all the chicks in the brooder under the lights. There is nothing obstructing my view of the chicks.

I am not saying the heat lamp is the best system, but it is what I have used for over 30+ years and it works for me.