With a chick, chick here and a chick, chick there...

[A.T. Hagan]

I'm afraid they're a bit more than that now. They're in the two dollar a chick range now. Not including shipping.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

A couple of folks have PMed me asking for further info so I'm going to answer their questions here.

You DO need to use porcelain light sockets if you'll be using more than a 100w bulb. Especially for the big 250 watt bulbs. They get quite hot and I would not trust any sort of plastic or bakelite socket in this application.

The size of the bulb you want to use depends on two things. How big your hover is and the air temperature. I only use the big 250w bulbs when I have very young chicks and the air temperature is going to be near or below freezing. Even then for the reduced size I built my hover to I only use one 250w and the other a 125w. Even at 20 degrees two of the 250s that close together was much too hot. A full size 4x4 or larger hover would be different.

Mostly I use the 125w brooder bulbs (they're marked as brooder bulbs) that I can get from Lowes and similar places or you can also often find them at feed stores and farm supplies or order them online. I use plain old 100 watters as well, but these last couple of years it's been difficult to find any that have any real service life. Seems like I have to replace them weekly. A new 125 will usually go the entire time the chicks are in the box.

Unless the weather is rather warm I always use two bulbs so if one goes out the chicks aren't left entirely without heat. The overhead insulation in the top of the hover helps with heat retention quite a lot if the shavings are dry, fluffy, and several inches deep. I once unwittingly turned out the lights on a box of week old chicks when it was below freezing. I did not realize my mistake until I came home that evening. The birds nestled down into the shavings underneath the hover and revived quite successfully when I discovered what I'd done nearly ten hours later.

FWIW if the outlet your brooder is plugged into is controlled by a light switch then tape the switch down so you cannot inadvertently turn it off when you walk out of the room!. Which is exactly what I did as I most always turn off room lights when I leave. I immediately moved their power to another outlet that could not be shut off so easily.

Now as for what keeps the little chickies from burning themselves on the lights. Well, mostly the bulbs are just a bit too high for them to bump into them until they are quite a bit older. By then they have learned not to touch the lights. I've never had a burn injury using that hover.

If you think you are going to be using the 250w lights then it behooves you to pay close attention to your wiring and the distance between the bulb and the bottom of the box of the box overhead. Build it just the way the instructions say. I did paint the insides of mine white for better reflectivity.

 

[mistymeadowchicks]

Thanks so much! '

'
Yvonne

 

[Xtina]

Can someone get me a link to the brooder thread? For some reason, I'm having a hard time finding it and I want to look at people's setups!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The Brooder Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6233


My order of ISA Brown chicks from Townline came in yesterday. They had me a bit worried there for a while because I knew they had shipped on Monday and was expecting the early morning call from the Post Office to come get them yesterday. Usually they call between 6:30-7:00 a.m. so when they hadn't called by 7:30 I called them. Nope, no chicks. My heart sank. She did offer the faint hope that even though they were shipped priority mail they might possibly come in with the noon express mail truck from the main p.o. in Gainesville. And they did!

First time I have ever had them come in the middle of the day like that but at least they made it.

So off I went to fetch them. Opened the box there at the p.o. and to my relief none dead or even appeared to be failing. I ordered 50 pullets, five cockerels and they threw in three extra pullets. I could hear them peeping as soon as I opened the door of the p.o. The postal folks are always so relieved to get them out of there!

The brooder was ready so straight into the box they went.

For you sharp eyed types you probably spotted the ones that don't look like ISAs. They're not. I stopped at the feed store on the way home and picket up eight Easter Egger chicks. Chicken math strikes again! Now I have a total of sixty six birds in there which is the most I've ever had in that box before. Fortunately I have a grow-out pen ready and waiting for them once they begin to grow crowded which is a pleasant change from the usual mad rush to get finished with whatever it is I need to finish building before I can move them!

As of this morning they all seemed to be happy and healthy. The place is jammed with birds now and I haven't even fired up the incubator yet!

 

[terrilhb]

Your chicks are beautiful. Congratulations.

And your brooder is awesome.

 

[gritsar]

Love the pics. The brooder is awesome ('course not as awesome as my broody hen

) and the chicks are nothing short of adorable.

 

[Xtina]

Thanks for the link! Two dollars a chick is a pretty good price. Here in Portland most shops are charging 3 to 5 dollars a bird.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Well, the two dollars is for buying at least fifty and is without shipping added in. That's a variable amount, but in my case brings them to roughly 2.40 a bird. My local feed store is selling theirs from $3.00 to $3.40 each depending on the breed.

They've also got to cover the feed, power, and perhaps shavings, plus any non-hatchery related losses they may suffer until the chicks are sold. So if they are selling for under $4.00 they're not making much per chick. It's the feed and supplies they are hoping to sell you is where they'll make their profit.

 

[Xtina]

There ya go. Buying in bulk drops the price down.