Brooder Help!

[LMcG]

Help please! I will be getting my 6 chicks this week. I currently have a large dog kennel set up for them with a heating plate for warmth. I was going to keep them in our mudroom but am considering moving them into our barn to start now that I have read a lot about getting them cold hardy earlier by placing the brooder outside to begin with. I live in NH and our evenings are still dipping into the 30's occasionally at night but mostly in the 40's and 50-60's daytime. Is this safe if they are blocked from the wind and rain inside a barn? Or should I wait a few weeks then move them out there before moving them into the coop, which is currently being built.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

If you can wrap the kennel against draft you may be OK. We got ours in January and kept them inside till they fully feathered, moved them to the coop segregated form the older birds in a kennel cage for integration with heat. If you feel uncomfortable with the cold start 'em in the mud room. Benefit off the mud room is constant monitoring, not coddling, monitoring. Cold hardy and freezing are two different things. JMO

 

[Ridgerunner]

I do not use a heat plate but I've read on this forum that some heat plates carry a warning to not use them below 50 Fahrenheit. I don't know of your heat plate is OK for 30 F weather. Some people on here have used a heat plate in temperatures lower than the 30's but I don't know if yours is the right brand. Maybe you could ask the manufacturer?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I do not use a heat plate but I've read on this forum that some heat plates carry a warning to not use them below 50 Fahrenheit. I don't know of your heat plate is OK for 30 F weather. Some people on here have used a heat plate in temperatures lower than the 30's but I don't know if yours is the right brand. Maybe you could ask the manufacturer?

This would be my main concern. A mama heating pad set up can work down at freezing but some heat plates specify 50F+.

One possible work around would be to use a heat lamp to bring up the ambient temperature of the area to closer to 50 - seems contradictory to need both but it would ensure that the plate is running optimally.